Breathless 4: The Darkest Night
by kez-chan
Summary: Set 5 years after Breathless 3, Sora thinks Riku's dead.Riku's a Dark-Hunter with amnesia.What happens when they meet again?Will Riku's memories of his previous life return?And will Sora be the one to help Riku get his soul back?Read and find out!AU/YAOI
1. Reunion, Sorta

**_Hi! kez-chan here! Just so you know, this will be the final part of the Breathless saga. I planned for this to be a quartet and for some strange reason started writing this chapter before I'd even finished part one meh go figure._**

**_Thanks so much to anyone who's read the whole thing so far and stuck with it especially those of you who reviewed/faved/alerted it._**

**_Guess what, breathless finally has fan art Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks Roxy chan I love it!_**

**_btw this is set five years after part 3 _**

**_OK I'll shut up for now and let you read the first chapter of Breathless 4: The Darkest night!_**

**_Disclaimer; I do not own anything in this!_**

**____________**

It was dark out. The city lights preventing anyone from seeing the stars.

Sora was walking, head down, watching his feet as he aimlessly followed his friends.

They had dragged him out as usual, they just didn't seem to get that this time of year all he wanted to do was hide in his room and sleep it away, he was beginning to think they were all insensitive jerks.

----------flashback----------flashback----------flashback----------

"Sora !Get out of that bed right now or I'll poor this water all over you!" Came Kairi's voice from somewhere in the room. Sora just groaned and hid deeper in his covers trying to drown out her yapping.

_SPLASH!_

"KAIRI!" Gasped Sora after she had poured freezing cold water all over the bed.

"I warned you! Now get up, clean up and dress up I'm taking you out! You need to get out for a few hours."

Sora peeked out from under the soaking wet covers and glared at Kairi, mentally throwing daggers at the woman. "Did it ever occur to you that I might not _want_ to go out?!" he yelled as he threw the covers off and got out of bed, storming off to get a shower.

"I don't care Sora. You do this every year and I wont watch you get all depressed again we're going out and that's final!" Storming out of the room and stomping her way downstairs, Kairi sat in the living room of the house she had shared with Sora for the past few years, to wait for him to come down.

Thirty minutes later, Kairi looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Happy, your Highness?" Grumbled Sora as he came down into the living room.

He wore black boot-cut jeans, black boots, and a black skin tight turtle neck sweater.

He'd washed his brown hair but just couldn't be bothered to spike it so it just hung, framing his face and barely touching his shoulders.

"You'll do. Now come on." Kairi said impatiently as she ignored the glares coming from those dull Sapphire eyes of his and grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the house and taking him to meet their friends.

----------endflashback----------endflashback----------endflashback----------

Yes, it was Valentines day. Again. Sora hated the day with a passion and for good reason.

The day should of been the anniversary of his wedding to Riku. Instead, it just reminded him of the night he'd disappeared, leaving nothing but a pool of blood, silver hair and a painful hole in Sora's heart.

Sora tried not to get depressed, they still hadn't found a body, they couldn't prove he was dead, but the night it had happened, just before Sora and Kairi had found the blood, Sora's heart had shattered and the moment he'd found the blood he had known his lover was dead, he couldn't explain it, but he had.

Now, five years later, Sora had taken to wearing only the darkest of colours, Kairi had taken to trying to cheer him up, or hook him up depending on her mood, and even Sora himself couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled.

He had a job, Sora had started a blog on the Internet, using it as a place to vent his sometimes overwhelmingly depressing thoughts and sometime later someone who had read them had offered to publish the journals as a book of poems. Sora had laughed darkly at the idea, he hadn't even realised he had been writing in that format but he had taken the offer and now Kairi was living with Sora instead of the other way around. Why was she living with Sora? Because she didn't trust him to be alone, what did she think he was gonna do? Kill himself? He wasn't that stupid, he knew damn well killing himself wouldn't reunite him with Riku, no, it would separate them forever.

Now twenty three, Sora hadn't even considered looking for love again. Riku had been his love, his angel and even the thought of a one night stand made him sick to his stomach, he wouldn't betray Riku like that. He just wished that his friends would listen to him when he told them that.

"Sora! Stop lagging behind will you? C'mon!" Sora almost jumped out of his skin as the sound of Kairi's loud voice brought him crashing out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the young woman come away from their friends and walk over to whisper in his ear. "I promise we'll go to a gay club next if you catch up with us now."

_I knew it._Thought Sora as he pushed her away and shouted. "That's it! I am sick and tired of you dragging me out all the time! I don't want a relationship with anyone got it? I'm not in-ter-est-ed!"

"Riku's dead,Sora! Stop waiting for him to just turn up on your doorstep!" Kairi shouted back. Regretting her words an instant later as she covered her mouth with a gloved hand.

Sora didn't say a word in response, he simply glared at her as though he could set her on fire, then turned and stormed off in the opposite direction, furious, his hair blowing out behind him from his speed and the wind, leaving Kairi to her sudden guilt at what she'd just said.

__________

Once Sora had calmed down a little, he began to pay attention to where he was going. Looking around he saw a pub he'd rarely been near and had never been inside of.

He walked closer to it and saw a sign outside the door. Reading it, Sora said to himself, "Open mic night? Heh what the hell, might as well check it out. Got nothing better to do anyway."

So, showing his I.D to the bouncers, he walked inside.

It was dark, crowded and reeked of alcohol, just like any other bar. Sora could hear the sound of someone checking sound equipment and looked around for the stage. It was at the far side of the bar and raised just enough for Sora to see a head of silver and crimson hair among all the people that were waiting for whoever it was to start playing.

Weaving his way through the people, he made his way to the stage for a closer look.

Their was only one person on the stage, he sat on a stool leaning over an acoustic guitar as he tuned it up, getting ready to play a song. His crimson streaked silver hair was long enough that with his head lowered it acted as a curtain, covering his face.

"Hey kid!" Someone off stage shouted, causing the guitarist to look up to his left. Sora looked in that direction to see a middle aged man motioning for the young man to go over to him.

"Hang on a sec." Said the guitarist as he put down his instrument and got up to walk across the stage.

Sora froze. He sounds like, Riku. As that thought crossed his mind he realised that he moved a lot like the silverlet to, though Sora had yet to see his face.

_Nah, that's impossible, stop torturing yourself, Sora_. he continued before turning and heading for the door, _I need to go home and clear mu head_. At that, Sora left the building, planning on getting something quick to eat before heading back home.

__________

Riku suddenly sensed a familiar presence in the room, he'd been distracted by the task of tuning his guitar up before but the moment he'd put it down and started walking he had sensed it and though he didn't recognise it, it felt so familiar that he found himself looking around as he walked trying to feel out who it might be.

"Kid, watch where you're bloody goin' will ya!" Came the managers voice, just before Riku took one step too many and fell from the stage, landing on all fours and twisting an ankle while he was at it.

"Dammit! That hurt!" he gasped as the manager held his hand out for him to take.

Waving away the mans help, Riku got to his feet and dusted himself off."

"You ok?" Asked the manager. If he remembered right his name was Robert.

"I'm fine." Riku sighed, "I'm gonna get some air, I'll be back in a few minutes OK?"

Robert nodded his head once and turned to get back to whatever he'd been doing.

Riku, ignoring the pain in his ankle, weaved his way around the people in the building and made his way outside.

Taking a deep breath of the crisp February air, Riku leaned against the cool wall for a moment before deciding to walk off the pain in his ankle before going back inside.

__________

After leaving the bar, Sora had gotten a burger and started a slow walk back home.

There weren't many people around since it was almost midnight and most of the party goers had found their favorite clubs to spend the next couple of hours in.

Throwing the wrapper from his burger in a trash can as he past it, Sora suddenly realised there were loud voices behind him.

_Don't worry, they're probably heading to the next club_. he thought remembering that there was a small one on his route home.

Trying to remain at his normal pace so that the men behind him wouldn't get a rise out of spooking him, Sora tried turning the next corner to test whether or not they really were following him, only to find out, too late, that it was a dead end.

_Sora you shit_! he thought to himself before noticing that he was indeed being followed. _Shit! Shit! Shit!_

Trying to keep calm, Sora turned to face his followers and said. "Can I help you guys with something?"

Catching sight of them, Sora was surprised. There were three of them, all very tall, blond, well muscled and very handsome. The shortest must of been at least six inches taller than his own five foot ten. If it wasn't for the fact they were all looking at him as though he were their next meal he might of actually found them attractive.

Not saying a word, the tallest suddenly grabbed Sora by both shoulders and shoved him against the wall, pinning him to it. Then the other two came closer and actually sniffed at his hair.

_OK that's just freaky_. Sora thought, before, heart racing, saying. "What do you want? Money? Here, take my wallet." he said out loud as tried to reach his jeans back pocket, not an easy task when your arms are pinned to a wall.

"Oh we don't need your money. It's your soul we want." Said the one who had him pinned.

_What?_Thought Sora, then _Oh fuck!_ when the one holding him revealed a set of vampire like fangs and leaned in towards his neck.

Suddenly the "vampire" was wrenched away from Sora and thrown a good twenty feet to hit the wall that made the alley a dead end.

Shocked, Sora slid to the ground as the other two went to help there companion.

He watched as what looked to be the guitarist from the bar he had just left, ran at an incredible speed to get to the other before he could get away and pinned him before ripping his shirt off, then holding out his right arm as a silver sword shimmered into existence in his hand, seconds later he brought the man away from the wall and ran it through a black inkblot-like tattoo on his chest, not giving him chance to fight back. He turned to a fine golden dust before he even hit the ground.

Sora sat there mesmerised as the other two "vampires" ran at the musician to attack him.

He was just about to yell out a warning when the young man span, taking his sword with him and slicing off one vampires head before coming to a stop and simply glaring at the other, who was yet to reach him. The remaining blond turned and ran.

"Run all you want, I'll catch you sooner or later." Whispered Riku, only slightly out of breath after the short battle.

He looked over at the man he had just rescued and walked over to him, glad the pain in his ankle had for the most part, gone before he had needed to fight.

Leaning down a little, Riku held out a hand to help the brunette to his feet. "Are you alright?" he asked, but the man just stared at him as though unable to believe what he was seeing. Putting his arm down, Riku crouched in front of the brunette before him, eyes searching him for any visible injuries before repeating, "Are you alright?"

Sora couldn't believe what he was seeing. That pale skin, the silver in his hair, the way he moved with perfect grace and precision. (he hadn't seen him fall off the stage before) and that voice.

_Riku?_he asked himself. Then he put his sword on the ground before holding out his hand again and Sora suddenly couldn't help himself, he reached out and moving to a kneeling position, embraced the crimson streaked silverlet as tightly as he could.

It _was_Riku, it had to be, the only difference was his eyes and hair, those black irises could be coloured contact lenses and hello, hair dye!

_What the fuck?!_Thought Riku as he tried to breathe beneath the brunettes tight hold. _Who is this guy?_ It was then that he realised the presence he'd sensed earlier was back, as though something was tugging at his heart. Was it coming from this person?

"Riku."

At that whispered word, Riku pushed the man away, demanding. "Who are you?"

"What?" The man said as he fell back. Riku watched as a pained expression appeared on the mans features. "You don't remember me?"

Should he? He couldn't remember anything before waking in the home of an Atlantean god named Acheron five years ago and had long ago stopped trying to wrack his brain for memories that refused to show themselves.

Sora watched, his heart clenching as a confused expression crossed Riku's features. The more he looked the more certain he was that it _was _Riku, but why didn't he recognise him?

Suddenly Sora heard the sound of something whistling through the air just before Riku cried out in pain. Shocked, he looked up over Riku's shoulder to see that the guy who had run a moment ago had come back.

_He must of snuck up while Riku was distracted by me_. he thought.

"Dammit! I let my guard down!" Hissed Riku between clenched teeth, a searching hand finding the hilt of a dagger lodged in his shoulder blade.

_Time it right Riku_. he thought as he remained still, keeping an eye on his sword as he listened for footsteps.

Hearing the man walk up to reclaim his dagger under the illusion he had bested him, Riku waited, his body tense.

Just as he felt the dagger being pulled free of him, Riku grabbed his sword and cried out in anger as he spun round while still crouched, taking the sword with him, the blade slicing through the mans legs as though they were made of butter and causing him to fall to the ground, screaming in sheer agony.

Riku stood, gasping in pain as he glared down at the man before driving the sword through his heart as though it were a wooden stake, he turned to dust just like the previous two.

"What was that?"

Remembering the brunette, Riku turned and looked down at the man still sitting on the ground. "Daimons. They are a race of humans cursed to die at the age of twenty-seven. The only way they can live is to take in human souls, becoming like the three who tried to take yours not long ago."Riku explained as he flexed his wounded shoulder, trying to shake the pain.

Taking this information in, Sora finally managed to stand and looked directly at Riku.

"Riku? Why don't you recognise me? Why wont you even look me in the eyes?"

Surprised by the questions, Riku looked up at Sora, accidentally making eye contact but instead of being attacked by images of a possible future like most other times he had done so, he simply felt something strong tugging on his heart and mind as he found his vision blurring. _What the fuck?_ he thought, just as he passed out.

"Shit! Riku!" Sora gasped as Riku suddenly collapsed into his arms. lowering his body to the ground, Sora knelt beside Riku and took a good look at him, it was then that he realised that he still looked like a teenager. He hadn't aged a day since the last time he'd seen him and why didn't he remember him? Suddenly finding his mind filling with questions, Sora jumped out of his skin when he heard his mobile phone ringing. Reaching around his back pocket, he answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Sora, I'm so sorry about what I said before, I never should of said that to y--"_It was Kairi.

"Kairi. I need you." Whispered Sora, a mix of fear, confusion and restrained joy in his voice.

_"What is it, Sora? Where are you?"_

"I'm in an alley near a bar called Sanctuary. Kairi...I found Riku," he almost sobbed at his next words, "he's alive."

"..."

__________

**_Well there you go chapter one all done! Let me know what you think and review please and thank you!_**


	2. Scattered

**_Here you go, chappie number two! phew this one was hard to write, I just couldn't get their reactions to seeing Riku alive and then finding out he didn't remember them right, I kept erasing and re-writing over and over again, but I'm finally happy with it, hope you like this chapter. *groans* My brain hurts now so you better like it! Kidding!_**

**_Anyway I'll let you get on with reading it now. XD_**

**_Disclaimer; I do not own anything!_**

**____________**

"_I'm in an alley near a bar called Sanctuary. Kairi...I found Riku, he's alive_."

Kairi froze.

Unable to stop thinking about what she'd said to Sora before he'd walked off, she had parted from her friends, left the bar they were in and called Sora. She had never expected that sentence to make it's way from the mans lips, down the phone line and to her ears.

"What did you say?" She asked after finding her voice again.

_"Just, get over here Kairi. I'll try to explain later." _Came Sora's voice. It was a little clearer now, a moment ago she had thought he was on the verge of tears.

"I...OK I'll be there as soon as I can." Said Kairi. Ending the call, heart racing, she put her phone back in her coat pocket and took off, running as fast as she could to get to her friend.

__________

It didn't take long to find him, the bar she had just left was just a few minutes away from Sanctuary.

"SORA!" She shouted as she reached the bar, gasping for breath. When she didn't hear anything she walked a little further down the street before shouting her friends name again. "SORA!"

"Over here!"

Hearing the shout, Kairi looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. She was just about to shout again when she saw someone come out from an alley just a few feet away and wave for her to come over, it was Sora.

Kairi ran over to him. "Sora, are you alright?" she asked, just as Sora moved aside, revealing a man lying on his back on the ground, obviously unconscious, his only movement being the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Curiosity overtaking her, Kairi moved closer to take a look at the mans face and stopped dead in her tracks, her hands flying to cover her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes. "Riku?" she gasped as she fell to her knees in shock.

"Kairi, he's hurt, I need your help to get him to the house." Came Sora's voice, penetrating her daze.

Kairi looked behind her at Sora. His gaze was determined and controlled, he knew he couldn't lose it, at least not until Riku was safe.

"He's hurt? Then shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" she asked as she tried to focus.

"I'm not sure, I checked and the wound isn't bleeding that badly, I want to take him home first and take a better look, if he needs it we'll both take him to a hospital. Can you help me get him home?"

_I guess that makes sense_. Thought Kairi. "Yeah." she said.

Sora then came over and stood beside Riku's unconscious form and crouched down, lifting an arm and draping it over his shoulders, keeping a hold of his hand with one of his own he waited for Kairi to do the same before lifting him up and taking him back to the house together. If anyone saw them, they'd just think Riku was too drunk to walk or something, it was too dark to see the blood on the back of his coat.

__________

Luckily their house wasn't that far from where they had started out and in just fifteen minutes, Sora and Kairi had Riku lying on a bed in the spare room.

Kairi had gone downstairs to call their friends and tell them about Riku, leaving Sora alone with the man they'd all thought dead for the past five years.

Sitting on a chair beside the bed, Sora reached over and ran a hand through the now crimson streaked silver hair and watched as his chest gently rose and fell with his breathing.

"They're on there way. Sora? Are you alright?" Came Kairi's quiet voice from the doorway.

"You know? He didn't recognise me." Sora whispered so quietly that it took a moment for Kairi to realise what he'd said.

"What do you mean? Sora, what happened." Said Kairi, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder before her own gaze moved to make sure the unconscious man was still breathing.

"I was attacked. Three men attacked me, they said they wanted my soul. They had fangs, Kairi."

Kairi frowned in concern. "Fangs?"

"Yeah, one pinned me against the wall but before he could do anything, Riku pulled him off me and fought all three of them, killing them, he was amazing Kairi, but one managed to hurt him before he could kill him, they turned to dust after. The thing is, Riku didn't know me, he demanded to know who I was when I called him by name, and when I finally made eye contact with him, his eyes became unfocused before he passed out. That's when you called."

_He doesn't remember Sora? _Thought Kairi, _How can he forget Sora? They were practically soul mates it should be impossible. If he has forgotten then something really traumatic must of happened to cause such a strong form of amnesia. What the hell happened to you, Riku?_

Just then the phone rang. "I'll get it." Kairi said before leaving again.

"OK." Said Sora. I'd better look at that wound. he thought. Looking Riku over,

He wore a long white coat that had reached his ankles when he was standing before and looked as though he had cut the sleeves off, showing pale, well muscled arms. It had an intricate ice blue flame stitch design running down the front on one side and the zipper was fastened but came down only to the top of his black skin tight jeans, revealing a little flesh of his stomach in his lying down position. He had a black choker around his neck that had a clear diamante bell dangling from it as though someone had claimed him as their pet.

Reaching over, Sora undid the zip of the thin, cotton like coat, revealing muscles he hadn't touched in so long. He found himself remembering that night five years ago when he'd memorised every inch of him in fear he'd never see him again...Shaking his head to focus, Sora put a hand beneath Riku's back and pulled him into a sitting position so that he could remove the coat and check his wound.

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be, the wound had already stopped bleeding and looked as though it was starting to heal.

Looking down a moment, Sora saw a tattoo on the small of his back, it was of a double bow and arrow. Strange, Sora never would of pegged Riku as someone who would get such a tattoo before.

Holding Riku up with one hand and reaching over to the bedside table, he used some items from the first aid kit Kairi had brought to the room to clean the wound before wrapping a bandage around it.

Once finished, Sora lay him back down and went to remove his boots.

They looked so heavy, black, knee high, metal on the heals and shaped into hearts for buckles, they weighed a tonne when Sora finally got them off and he almost dropped them.

"How can you wear those Riku?" He said as he looked at Riku's peaceful angelic face.

Caught in the moment and his emotions, Sora couldn't help himself, cupping the unconscious Riku's face in his hand, Sora leaned over him and placed a kiss on his soft lips as the first real tear fell from his eyes. "I've missed you so much."

Coming away, he was just about to remove his jeans so he'd be more comfortable when he heard a soft groan come from Riku's lips.

"That was Amanda, Kyrian just called her to tell her what I told him, she was with her sisters, she's coming straight over with Kyrian..." Came Kairi's voice as she came back into the room.

"Shhh...I think he's waking up."

__________

Riku came awake feeling strangely weak and unable to find the energy to even open his eyes.

"_Morning, sleepy head." _Came a voice from so far away he had to strain to hear it. _"I'm gonna go and make some pancakes for breakfast. Want some?" _Strange, though he could barely hear it, the voice sounded familiar. The voice laughed a little suddenly before saying, "_That hungry huh?"_

Suddenly feeling as though he really should know that voice, Riku found himself searching for memories he couldn't find for the first time in a long time, a search he couldn't conduct alone.

"Riku?"

Hearing that voice, quiet, but clear and full of longing, Riku was finally freed from his momentary paralysis as he followed the sound back to the physical world.

__________

Sora watched as Riku seemed to be struggling to wake up.

"Riku?" he said quietly, trying to help him return to consciousness.

Moments later, Riku's eyes blinked opened, only to squeeze shut again as a hand shot up to cover them.

"What is it?" Sora asked, worry in his voice.

"It's too bright. The light, it hurts my eyes." Riku said. _Where am I?_ he thought. _It feels like I'm on a mattress, how did I get here?_

A moment later he heard a female voice say. "I turned the light off, Riku. You can open your eyes."

"How do you feel?" Came another voice, _Was that the guy from earlier? Why do I feel as though I should know him?Ahhh! Where have I heard that voice before? _Thought Riku, he didn't let any of that show in his expression though as he moved his arm away and opened his eyes.

Now that the light wasn't piercing his vision, Riku looked around. The room was dark now, the only light came from the moonlight shining in through the windows. He saw that he was indeed lying on a bed and that someone was sitting on a chair next to him.

Careful not to look into the mans eyes, Riku studied his face a little, he could see perfectly in the dark so it wasn't hard to see the tear falling down his cheek._ Why is he crying?_

"Riku? Did you hear me?"

_There he goes calling me by name again. _Riku thought before answering him. "I heard you. Where am I? How did I get here?" he said before attempting to sit, only to feel a sharp pain shoot across his injured shoulder-blade as he put pressure on that arm. "Ahhh!"

"Careful, you're hurt." Came the female voice again as she came over from where ever she had been to help him.

Riku stared in her direction, resisting the urge to look her in the eye as she helped him to sit up against the headrest. "Who are you two, how do you know my name?" he asked. _And why the hell do I feel so_ _weak? _"Uhhh what happened?" he asked as he covered his eyes again, feeling a headache coming on.

Kairi backed away a little. Even though Sora had explained that Riku hadn't recognised him she hadn't been fully prepared for the question he had thrown her way. He hadn't roughly demanded it, but he might as well of slapped her in the face. Clearing the lump that had worked it's way to her throat, Kairi said. "My...My name is Kairi. I helped to get you here, you're in a spare room in our home."

"Oh. Thank you. I'd of been Daimon food if you'd left me out there." Said Riku. _Either that or dust when the sun came up. _

_Daimon food?_ Thought Kairi, but decided to voice that question later as Riku swung his legs off the bed and, using the wall for support, stood up.

"Where are you going?" Sora asked.

"I have to get home." Replied Riku. He couldn't flash himself to Katoteros in front of these two, they'd find out he wasn't human.

"Oh no." Sora said as he stood and gently pushed Riku back down. He'd just found Riku, he wasn't prepared to just let him leave like this, not while he was hurt. "The way you fought back there I'm assuming that it's a regular thing. What if you get attacked before you can get home?"

Sighing when he sensed the determination in the mans voice, Riku said. "Fine. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"No...It's the room facing this one." Sora said sitting back down.

"Thanks." Riku then got back to his feet and tiredly made his way to the bathroom.

__________

"He really doesn't remember us does he?" Said Kairi as she let some of her tears flow down her cheeks.

"I guess not." Said Sora. She couldn't see his face, it was hidden behind a curtain of brown hair and she couldn't read his emotions because of it.

"What's wrong with you, Sora? You don't seem bothered at all."

Sora looked up at her, sheer determination crossing his tear stained face. "That's because I'm going to make him remember us."

"How?"

Sora sighed and hid his face in his hands. "I don't know yet." he groaned as his head hit the mattress.

__________

"What's wrong with me?" Riku asked himself as he stood in front of the mirror in the unlit bathroom. "I have to get home and talk to Ash about this." Closing his eyes, Riku flashed himself back to Katoteros, except that when he opened his eyes again, he was still in that bathroom.

_What the hell? _he thought before hearing the voice of the very god he wanted to talk to in his head.

'_Ku, you are not going anywhere yet_.

_Acheron? Why not?_ he thought, knowing the god would here him.

_Since you started your new life with me and the others on Katoteros, you've longed to remember your past and it drove you crazy didn't it? That you couldn't remember anything no matter how hard you tried._

_What does that have to do with this place? _Riku asked keeping his words in his head.

_Nothing, though it has everything to do with the humans that live in that house. They are the key to your memories. Your reaction to the eye contact you made with the boy proved to me that you are subconsciously ready to remember your past and what happened to you._

_What if I don't want to remember anymore?_

_I'm not giving you a choice. I'm blocking your ability to flash from place to place._

_What?! Fine! _Cutting the connection with the man, Riku left the room and re-entered the one he had woken up in.

When the two humans looked in his direction, he lingered at the door, leaning against it's frame.

"I guess I'll stay for a while." he said.

"Good, get some rest, you look exhausted." The brunette said and was that cold determination Riku sensed coming from him?

"What are you? Apollymi?" Retorted Riku, reacting to Sora's order that he get some rest.

"What?!" Said Sora. _Does he remember the doll?_

Riku rolled his eyes, saying. "Doesn't matter."

"Riku?" Sora said, standing and closing the distance between them. He tried to make eye contact, only for Riku to look away before he had a chance.

"How the hell do you know my name anyway?" Riku asked, eyes hitting the floor.

Sora lowered his head. "I'm gonna go to bed okay? Call me if you need anything." he whispered as he brushed passed Riku.

As the man passed him, his body language betraying sadness, a light smell hit him...

Peppermint.

Riku suddenly fell to his knees as a wave of emotions overwhelmed him.

"Riku!" Sora and Kairi cried at the same time as they went to him.

_That smell! So familiar. _Riku thought as he vaguely noticed he was back on the bed again.

Opening his eyes again he looked up at Sora, avoiding his gaze as he said.

"Who _are_ you? Why do I feel as though you hold memories that are always just out of reach."

Then he remembered the seemingly scattered dream he'd had before opening his eyes earlier.

_Morning sleepy head. I'm gonna go and make some pancakes. Want some?_

Riku's eyes went wide as he realised that voice sounded like this guy before him. "You knew me from before didn't you?"

He saw a stray tear fall from his eyes and couldn't resist lifting a hand to brush it away. _I wonder why I feel so drawn to him_.

"Yes Riku. We did know you from before," Sora said, a smile crossing his features as Riku began to show signs that he'd remember them.

Riku felt himself fading into sleep again, though not before hearing that voice again.

"Don't worry, we'll help you remember. I'm not telling you my name though, I want you to remember that one yourself."

Sora watched as Riku's eyes closed again and his breathing evened out.

Smiling up at Kairi he said. "You know, I think he just needs a boost."

Kairi, tears in her eyes, came up behind her friend and hugged him tightly. "Yeah, you say that like it's as though his memories are hidden from him by a wall and he just needs a leg up to get over it."

"Maybe that's it, They do say amnesiacs memories can be triggered by something as simple as a smell, maybe my cologne triggered something a moment ago, I did brush past him, maybe he caught my scent." Said Sora quietly before yawning and curling up beside Riku on the double bed.

"Whatever it is, we can't help while he's asleep and we're both just as tired. Maybe we should get some sleep ourselves." Kairi said, walking to the door. She looked back to see if Sora was following her out the room to see that he was already asleep.

Smiling, Kairi left them alone and went downstairs to sleep on the sofa in-case their friends came while they were asleep.

_It's sad that you forgot us so completely Riku_. she thought as she covered herself with a blanket as she lay on the sofa to sleep. _But you're alive. Right now, that's all that matters_.

__________

**_So... What did you think? Let me know by reviewing 'Kay. Please and thank you!_**


	3. Lining up the pieces

**_Disclaimer; I do not own anything and am not being paid to write this fanfic!_**

**_Hello! I'm back with chapter three sorry it took me longer than usual to update but as you can see this is the longest chapter yet and was the hardest one to write so far, hopefully the rest will flow easier from here._**

**_Enjoy_**

**_--------------------_**

Kairi had been tossing and turning on the living room sofa for what felt like hours. She had just managed to relax to a point where she might actually fall asleep, when she heard a knocking at the door.

"Sora?! Kairi?!" Came a voice she recognized as Amanda's.

Getting up, Kairi went to open the front door. "Hi Amanda, Kyrian." she said in greeting as she motioned the couple to come into the house.

"Hi Kairi." Said Amanda, concern showing in her voice.

"Where is he?" Kyrian asked.

"Hm?" Kairi said as she rubbed at her eyes, fighting to keep them open.

"You said over the phone that Sora had found Riku. Where is he?" Kyrian said, grabbing her shoulders as he did so.

"Oh, sorry. He's upstairs with Sora, in the spare room."

As Kyrian went straight upstairs, Amanda turned to Kairi and guided the seemingly dazed woman back to sit on the sofa, then sat next to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Kairi nodded absently before saying, "Why is Kyrian in such a hurry? I was going to take you both upstairs."

"Listen, Kairi. Kyrian's had his suspicions about Riku for a long time now, since it became clear that we weren't going to find a body."

"But…He's alive, Amanda. He couldn't have died that night, someone must of helped him."

"The first thing we did when we reached you was phone every hospital in the area, no one had brought him in."

OK now she was getting confused, if Riku had died then what was he doing sleeping upstairs.

"Kairi?" Kairi looked at Amanda as she tried to make sense out of the last few hours. "Did you happen to notice any tattoos, or his eye colour?"

Kairi shook her head. "No, I didn't. Though Sora swore that his eyes were black."

At that, Amanda sighed. "I thought so. Kairi, it seems some explanations are needed,"

--------------------

Kyrian found the room easy enough, he and his wife had come to stay over a few times in the past, especially if Kairi was worried about Sora, he always got depressed this time of year so they'd stay over for a while to help distract the brunette from the absence of his lover.

Only this time when they'd been called over, it was due to the silverlets sudden reappearance.

Seeing that the door was slightly ajar, Kyrian pushed it open and walked in.

It wasn't a very large room, the wallpaper was painted a dark blue, though with the lights off it looked black. The carpet was black and so were the curtains, which were open, letting the moonlight in.

Seeing that Riku was infact lying on the double bed, Sora curled into a tight ball beside him, the man walked over to them and wondered about the dark streaks of colour in the silverlets hair.

He had never truly believed that Riku was dead, not without the proof of finding a body. He knew from experience that there was no guarantee of the young mans death. That being said, there was a certain surrealism to seeing him lying there, simply sleeping.

But he had to make sure of something before he made any assumptions.

Approaching the bed, Kyrian reached down and, using a thumb, gently lifted one of Riku's eyelids.

He swore quietly when he saw the unnatural colour of those eyes.

He then, using his index finger, checked his teeth, Riku didn't even stir as Kyrian felt sharp fangs pierce his skin.

_Shit! I wonder if Sora's noticed those yet_

Then, his suspicions confirmed, Kyrian walked over to the curtains and pulled them closed making sure that the suns rays wouldn't break through any gaps before going downstairs to rejoin his wife and Kairi.

--------------------

" The kid's a Dark-Hunter alright," Kyrian said as he rejoined his wife and Kairi in the living room, "What the fuck happened to him?" Running a hand through his hair, he sat down next to Amanda and watched as Kairi's eyes widened. _Amanda must of explained already, Kairi didn't like me saying that._

"What?" Kairi whispered shakily not liking the sound of that.

"Well, remember what I just told you about the Dark-Hunters?" Kairi nodded at what Amanda was saying, "Well…Kyrian was once a Dark-Hunter."

Dread filled Kairi's heart as she thought about what she was about to ask. Turning to look at the blond, she said quietly. "Kyrian, what happened? Why did you become a Dark-Hunter?"

"A long time ago, my wife at that time, betrayed me to the enemy during a war. I was brutally tortured for days, the bastard fucked my wife in front of me before he had me crucified." Said Kyrian, his eyes down cast.

Kairi wanted to cover her ears. She couldn't bare the thought that something so terrible might of happened to one of her best friends.

Suddenly sensing someone else in the room, Amanda looked up to see…

"Sora."

Kairi looked to the woman then followed her gaze to where she was looking. Sora stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking as though he'd been shot.

"I was right wasn't I? That night, I felt it, something deep inside me just shattered. That was when he died wasn't it?" he said as he lowered his gaze, not wanting to look his friends in the eye as he clenched both his fists, bracing himself for their answer.

"Yes, I think so. The question is, what happened that night? What was so bad that caused such acute amnesia?" Said Kyrian when it seemed the others didn't want to answer the brunette.

"Honestly?" Whispered Sora, "I'm not sure I wanna know."

--------------------

The only one that actually got any sleep that night was, Riku. In fact he slept most of the next day as well.

When Sora asked about this, he was watching over the forever 19 year-old, Amanda by his side as he held Riku's limp hand while she explained from her own experiences with Kyrian.

"Dark-Hunters are very resiliant. Though if they do get hurt, in battle or otherwise, they're pulled into sleep, their bodies craving the rest that will heal them. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"I know." Said Sora.

Just then Amanda heard a quiet rumbling sound and smiled at her friend. "Come on, Sora. I'll fix us all something to eat. He's not going anywhere yet, he can't, not until night fall.

"Yeah." Sighed Sora. Then, standing, they both left the room, leaving Riku to sleep undisturbed.

--------------------

_Someones hands were all over him, fingers lightly brushing over every curve and muscle as though memorizing him._

_He reached up to gently cup their cheek in his hand, even though he couldn't truly see their face, everything was blurred, like he saw it through a stained glass window._

_He heard himself whisper the person's name in concern but something prevented him from understanding his own words._

_Then, the person spoke, their words and breath tangled by tears and dread._

"_Don't leave me, Riku. Please? Don't ever leave me."_

Riku gasped, coming awake as he bolted up right, his body covered in a cold sweat.

Realising it had been a dream, Riku flopped back down again, covering his eyes with his hands.

_What the hell was that? It felt so real. Was it a memory?_

"You OK, Riku?" Came a voice from beside him.

Riku started, he hadn't noticed the others presence. Moving his hand away from his eyes, he sat back up to study the man.

His brown hair was a little messy and there were shadows under his eyes, he obviously hadn't slept at all. He hadn't changed clothes either and was still wearing his coat. His eyes drifted back up, drawn to look into the others, Riku stopped himself just in time and looked away.

"It was just a dream." He said, answering the brunettes question.

"Oh." The man paused for a moment before saying, "Riku, if I said we might be able to help you remember your past, would you let us?"

Riku, froze, he hadn't expected him to offer something like that. Could he really help him regain his memories? He'd lost hope a long time ago and sometimes he wasn't even certain he wanted to remember any more but, now, after meeting the brunette he felt as though something had been triggered, maybe he should give it a chance.

Looking in the man's direction, being careful to avoid eye contact, Riku nodded once before answering, "Yes."

A determined look on his face, Sora stood and walked over to the closet before opening its doors and taking out a long black coat, then walking over to sit back down on the chair beside the bed and handing the coat to Riku.

"That's the coat our friends gave you. You wore it the day you disappeared.

Riku took the coat from him and swung his legs off the bed, getting into a position where he could study it better; his eyes took in the detail of the threaded patterns that ran down one side, the blood red roses that were the buckles, perfect replicas of the real thing.

_Wait, why would I wear replicas of something I'm allergic to? _That thought, along with the object in his hands, seemed to trigger something and Sora noticed as Riku's eyes seemed to glaze over as he froze.

He then knelt on the floor before Riku and looked up into his unfocused eyes as though trying to see whatever he was seeing.

It happened again; he sort of remembered something;

_Running out of a bar after drinking something and finding that the aftertaste tasted like roses._

But it was only a flash of memory, no other people involved or anything. It was as though it were cut off at the sides, a tiny single piece of a huge puzzle.

"Riku?"

"Hn?" Murmured Riku after realizing he was being spoken to.

As he refocused his eyes, he found that the brunette was crouched down in front of him, his eyes looking up directly into his own. He tried to look away but he couldn't. It was as though Sora had captured his gaze and he couldn't look away.

There was no vision, no glimpse of a possible future and no random, fragmented memory.

He did however, feel as though his body were on fire as his heart rate quickened.

"Riku, What is it? What's wrong?" Came the brunettes voice, though, Riku didn't really hear it, all he heard was the rapid beating of his own heart.

_Thump, thump, thump_

He reached over and cupped the man's cheek in his right hand.

_Thump, thump, thump_

'_My heart feels like it's going to burst.'_

_Thump, thump, thump_

'_His eyes are beautiful, like Sapphires.' _

_Thump, thump, thump_

'_I want to cry. Why do I want to cry? I want to remember you. I NEED to know who you are._

"Who _are_ you?"

Sora held the hand that rested on his cheek as he used his other to gently wipe a glistening tear from fascinating onyx eyes that seemed to swirl.

It hurt that his angel didn't know him, but it hurt even more to see him so pained and confused. But he was alive, Riku was right there in front of him. Sora was torn between sadness, confusion and absolute joy as that fact finally sank in.

"I told you, I want you to remember that one yourself." Sora whispered as, before he could stop himself, he closed the distance between them.

Riku blinked in surprise as warm, soft lips brushed against his own, the sensation causing his heart to beat even faster as he closed his eyes and melted into the kiss, his mind not caring that he didn't know this man because his heart, his heart did, if only the two could connect.

'_This feels so right.' _He thought, just as he felt fingers in his hair, lightly tangling themselves in crimson and silver.

_Flash_

"_Does that hurt?_

_Flash_

"_It should hurt. My blades went right through your heart."_

_Flash_

"_Hey, Tru! Should I sing him to sleep? Make it easier on him."_

_Flash_

"St-stop it!"

"What?" Asked Sora, startled as Riku abruptly pulled away from him. Then, realizing what he'd just done, said. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't of done that."

"No…It's fine…It's just that…You had your fingers in my hair and…I feel sick." Riku said just before getting up off the bed and running to the bathroom.

Sora sat there shocked, how could he of just done that to someone who, in their mind, had only just met him. Sighing, he got up and sat back in the chair before letting his head fall on the mattress of the bed before him, thinking. _'I'm such an idiot! Why did I do that?' _

Sitting up straight again, Sora stood and began to pace the room, trying hard to think of something that would help Riku to remember him and their friends._ 'Think Sora think! Something that would make him think of us…'_

Sora's head snapped up as he himself suddenly remembered something;

'_What's this song? It's beautiful.'_

'_It's called River flows in you, but I can't remember the name of the composer. It kind of makes me think of you.'_

At that memory, Sora's heart began to thump loudly in his chest as he said. "That's it! The ice arena!"

Dashing into Kairi's room, Sora grabbed the keys to the arena (Kairi now co-owned the place with her mother) then quickly wrote his friends a note telling them where they were going as they had all fallen asleep sometime ago downstairs before Sora had even come to check on Riku. He then went to see if Riku was up to it.

Riku sat on the cold floor of the bathroom, his back against the wall, head resting on his knees, he used his arms as a shield as he tried to banish the images of that man from his mind.

Suddenly, he almost jumped out of his skin as the door opened and Sora, gasping, said. "I have an idea. Are you up for a little trip?"

Looking up at the man, Riku wondered if he was crazy before he remembered he couldn't have known of his "allergy" to sunlight. Then he looked out the window to see it was pitch black outside and he wondered how long he had slept.

"It might trigger a full memory, Riku. In fact I'm almost positive it will." Riku looked up into those pleading eyes intentionally for the first time and when nothing happened, nodded his head.

Getting to his, feet he said, "Alright, let's go."

Sora smiled and suddenly looked excited as he threw Riku's white sleeveless coat at him, then, a huge grin spreading over his features, grabbed Riku's hand and dragged him out of the room, down the stairs and out the door.

Riku, thinking, _'This guy's crazy.'_ Couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about this as he was dragged to wherever the brunette was taking him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the arena, about twenty minutes or so. The moment Riku set foot inside he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Like he'd been here before not just once but hundreds of times, even the very air in that building felt familiar and he couldn't help but close his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"What is this place?" he asked when he opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at Sora.

"It's Kairi and her mom's ice arena." Sora replied.

"Did I used to come here?"

"Yes. You came here a lot actually. You always loved to skate, you even taught me." Sora smiled at the memory before dashing off somewhere, shouting. "Get some skates ok. I'm gonna put some music on!"

Wondering if they should even be here, Riku walked over to the ice and as he stepped onto it, a silver blade shimmering into existence on each of his boots a mere second before they touched the ice.

Sora ran into the tech booth and instantly started rummaging through the cds, reading the tracks on the back of each case and throwing it behind him if it was the wrong one.

Finally finding what he was looking for, he inserted the disc into the cd player that was connected to all the speakers surrounding the arena, then left the booth and grabbed a pair of skates and sat down to put them on as he watched Riku.

Riku watched from the centre of the ice rink as the brunette came running out of the tech booth, grabbed a pair of skates, then sat down to put them on as he watched him.

Then the music started.

Sora watched as Riku's eyes widened the moment the song started and he smiled as he quickly tied the laces of his skates before joining Riku on the ice._ 'What are the chances he hasn't heard that song once in all this time? I hope this works, if it doesn't then I don't know what will.'_

Riku's eyes widened the moment he heard the first notes of the melody, triggering something deep inside his mind,

"_What's this song? It's beautiful."_

He gasped at the emotions triggered by the song that was playing, found himself reaching out, as if to pull down the stained glass between him and the images he was seeing. There was something about not being able to grasp hold of this memory that tortured him.

Sora had just reached Riku and was about to take his hand, when he saw a single tear fall down his right cheek as his eyes refocused and he made the blades on his boots disappear as he slumped almost clumsily to his knees and cried out in anger.

"I can't do it! I keep almost remembering but something's in the way and I can't see through it!" he then beat the ice hard with a fist, just before being pulled into an embrace. He hadn't even noticed the brunette had sat down too.

Holding Riku tightly in his arms, Sora tried the only thing he had left, if this didn't work he had nothing else. Taking a deep breath as he felt Riku's anger at himself radiating from him. He whispered one, single sentence into his ear;

"Marry me?"

Riku gasped as his heart practically burst and he felt whatever was blocking access to his memories shatter into a million pieces.

"_What's this song? It's beautiful."_

"_It's called 'River flows in you' but I can't remember the name of the composer. It kind of makes me think of you."_

"_Skate with me, Sora?"_

Sora pulled back when he felt Riku's body stiffen.

Looking into his eyes, Sora saw that he seemed to be in a trance, gazing in wonder at nothing at all. Or was he…?

"Riku?"

Suddenly he snapped out of it and simply stared at him with glistening onyx eyes as he reached out and lifted a lock of brown hair, pulling it out straight at an odd angle.

"Riku, What are you doing?"

"Sora, when did you stop spiking your hair?"

At those words, Sora almost burst into tears. Riku had remembered his name. He suddenly felt as though the world was lifted from his shoulders as he felt Riku's lips meet his own with the same desperation he felt.

Riku couldn't breathe, he was so hot, his heart was beating so hard against his chest he thought it would break a rib. And as the lilting notes of that melody, their melody, reached his heart, tears fell from his eyes.

He remembered everything, every kiss, every laugh and it made him want to cry. How the hell could he forget something like this?

"I'm sorry, Sora." He whispered as he broke their kiss.

"What for?" Sora asked. He wondered what on earth Riku had to be sorry for.

Riku lowered his head as though ashamed of something. "I forgot you, how could I forget you? Forget everything."

"Riku." Sora whispered as he lifted Riku's chin with a finger so he could look him in the eye. "It's okay. Whatever it was that caused you to forget wasn't your fault." Sora closed his eyes and lightly kissed him, almost as though he was afraid he had forgotten him again.

Riku felt those lips on his own and melted into the kiss. This was it, this was what he'd felt was missing since the day he'd opened his eyes in Acheron's home. Unable to stop himself and unwilling to even try, he reached up and placed his hands against Sora's chest before pushing him down onto the ice as he used his powers to melt away the one thing separating their bodies.

Sora gasped as he felt the ice on his naked body. "Riku!" he yelled and seconds later, felt the ice replaced by something that felt like a warm fur rug.

"Sorry." Riku whispered in his ear.

"It's OK." Sora whispered back. Truth be told, he hadn't really cared, he was so happy at that moment he'd would of let Riku do anything, so long as he didn't leave his sight.

He was surprised though when he felt Riku gently scrape his neck with his fangs, Kyrian had told him about those hours ago but he'd not quite believed him and hadn't really noticed them until that point, the realization didn't stop the little groan of pleasure from escaping his lips though when Riku gently nipped at his skin.

Riku groaned at the sensation of Sora's hands roaming his back. He felt amazing, as though he'd finally woken up after a long and deep sleep and at the same time he was almost afraid that it was all still a dream that would fade away the moment he woke up. If that were the case then he didn't want to wake up. He wanted to stay here, with Sora forever.

"I love you, Sora." He whispered as he left a trail of butterfly kisses along Sora's collarbone.

"I missed you so much." Whispered Sora, it felt so good to hear his name on Riku's lips again and suddenly he wasn't content to let Riku have all the control, placing both hands between them, he pushed against his chest in a way that told him he wanted to take over.

Riku rolled them over, his body touching the ice as Sora lifted himself up to straddle his hips.

"You'll freeze, Riku." Sora said, it was strange, suddenly he felt as though they had never been apart.

"I don't care." Riku said as he reached up and pulled Sora down into a kiss, their tongues dancing as Sora felt along Riku's fangs.

Riku watched as Sora moved to lower himself onto his erection, then, not liking the loss of his body heat, came up to meet him and soon enough the fact that they were on the ice didn't stop them from being covered in sweat by the time they both cried out in ecstasy.

Moments later, they were both lying in each others arms and Riku had manifested their clothes back onto their bodies.

"Don't ever leave me again, Riku. Living without you was hell. Next time you leave, take me with you." Sora whispered as he began to drift into sleep. Riku said nothing however as he tightened his grip on the man thinking. _'I could never leave you, Sora. Not intentionally.'_ He then let his eyes close shut as he drifted into a light sleep.

--------------------

Kairi stood in her room reading the note Sora had left.

"_Sorry, Kairi but I borrowed the keys to the ice arena. I had an idea of something that might help Riku remember us. Hope it works, back soon._

_Sora"_

She had woken up not long ago and come to check on Riku suspecting that Sora would be with him, only to find the rooms empty, she had then found the note she'd just read.

Grabbing her coat, she added her own note to the paper and put it on the coffee table downstairs before leaving the house.

When she got to the arena, she smiled when she saw the two of them lying like that, both of them fast asleep on the ice.

"I guess whatever you did worked, Sora.." She whispered to herself as she felt her smile grow and tears form in her eyes with happiness. "But you'll both freeze like that."

Though when she saw Sora snuggle up against Riku, she found she just didn't have the heart to go over and wake them up. "OK, Five more minutes." She whispered as she walked over to the hot drinks machine and got herself a coffee. She kind of felt sorry for Riku, the moment they got back and Kyrian found out he had regained his memories, he'd be bombarded with questions.

Going back to sit down on the steps of the ice rink, Kairi drank her coffee, then went to wake the two lovers before they both froze to death.

--------------------

**_OK Somethings bugging me about the last quarter or so of this chapter so maybe I'll come back and change it at some point, this was only my second attempt at a lime/lemon so go easy on me OK. reviews are greatly appreciated as they give me the incentive I need to write the next chapter._**


	4. Kadaj's mark

**_Finally! I finished typing chapter 4 up onto my computer! I honestly thought it would take forever even though this isn't as long as the last. Jeez it's been almost four weeks since my last update I'm really sorry about that, I guess this isn't getting easier to write after all, it's getting harder, *smiles* but more fun at the same time so it's not all bad._**

**_Anyway hope you like this chapter. Enjoy! XD_**

**_Disclaimer; I do not own any of the characters or places._**

**_--------------------_**

"...ra...Ri...et up." Came a voice, it took a moment for Sora to realise someone was shaking his shoulder and by the nudging he felt against him, Riku's too.

"Mmmm...." he groaned, unwilling to open his eyes.

"Oh jeez..." he heard someone take a deep breath, then. "SORA! RIKU! YOU'RE BOTH GONNA FREEZE TO DEATH!"

"Gah!" Sora yelled in surprise as he bolted upright wondering who was yelling in his ear. "Oh, it's you, Kairi. Don't do that, you'll give me a heart attack!" Putting a hand over his heart, Sora looked behind him at Riku, who was staring at Kairi, looking a little shocked. Then the shocked expression was replaced with a smile as he said to the red-head.

"You just love to interrupt us don't you, Kairi?"

It was Kairi's turn to look shocked, when she had seen them together like that she had known he had at least remembered Sora, she hadn't expected him to remember her as well and before she knew it she had tears forming in her eyes. "You...you really remember? Everything?"

Riku adjusted the way he was sitting so that he could hug Kairi. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly against him. "Everything."

Sora watched as Kairi returned the embrace and closed her eyes. "We missed you so much, Riku."

A few seconds later, Sora huffed and crossed his arms. "What happened to freezing to death?"

Kairi pulled away and almost giggled at the look on Sora's face. "Sora you jealous bum. What''s wrong? Aren't I allowed to hug your man?"

"Shut up, Kairi." he whispered.

Riku took one look at Sora's flushed cheeks and burst out laughing. He just couldn't believe that even now the brunette still looked adorable when he blushed.

The moment Sora heard Riku's laughter he felt his heart soar. Staring at him for a moment, the brunette tackled him to the icy ground and kissed him passionately before whispering in his ear. "You have no idea how much I've missed that sound."

Riku lifted a hand and placed it behind the brunettes neck, holding him where he was as he tenderly kissed his neck and collar bone, laughing quietly when the man shivered against him as he grazed his neck with his sharp fangs.

Sora had almost forgotten about Kairi as he thought. _'Mmmm still smells like strawberries_.' Turning his head a little, Sora received a quiet gasp of pleasure as he used his position to deliver a quick lick to Riku's earlobe.

"Ahem! Still here you know." Came Kairi's voice. Interrupting them.

"Heheh. Party pooper." Said Sora, a huge grin on his face as he reluctantly sat back up, allowing Riku to do the same.

"We'd better get back before Kyrian and Amanda come looking for us."

"You're right. Sorry about just leaving like that, Kairi." Said Sora.

"That's okay, whatever you did it worked. Riku got his memories back. Right, Riku?"

"Right." Riku smiled.

Kairi watched as Riku gracefully got to his feet then stared at his boots when the blades shimmered back into existence and he helped Sora to his feet. "Whoa."

"What?" Asked Riku at that statement. Then as though realising what he had done, sighed and said. "Oh right, Listen, there's something you two really should know about me-"

"We know you're a Dark-Hunter, Riku." Stated Sora.

"What? How?"

"Well, Kyrian and Amanda told us, though I knew something was up, you manifested a sword out of nowhere when you saved me yesterday." Said Sora, then, getting closer again and holding on to Riku's arm as he asked the question he was dreading the answer to. "Riku...What happened to you? How...how did you...?" He couldn't say it, a lump had formed in his throat at the thought of Riku's possibly horrific death.

Riku knew what he was asking and frowned as Sora looked up, searching his expression while Kairi came closer, both looked almost afraid, but the truth was...

"I don't know."

"What?" Both Kairi and Sora gasped in unison.

Riku glided apart from them, thinking as he headed over to the carpeted flooring.

"Riku?" Said Sora as he and Kairi made their way over to him.

De-materializing the blades on his boots, Riku waited till they had gotten back outside in the crisp night air before he turned back to them, saying. "I just...I don't know what happened. I guess I don't remember everything after all."

"Oh look who finally came down to the human realm long enough for us to find him." Came a sneering voice that didn't belong to either of the trio.

Riku turned to see two men standing across the road from them.

"Riku, do you know them?" Asked Kairi.

Riku shook his head, not taking his eyes off the two men as he took a protective stance in front of Sora and Kairi, guarding them. "Get back inside." he ordered.

"But Ri-"

"I said get back inside!" Turning back towards them, Riku forced Sora and Kairi back inside the building they had just exited and shut the door after them.

"Riku! What's going on? Who are they?" Yelled Sora, eyes wide as he watched Riku from the doors windows.

"Daimons! Now stay inside both of you! I don't want either of you to get hurt!"

Sora watched as Riku turned back to face the two Daimons as he thought, _'But what about you?'_

"What are Daimons?" Asked Kairi, by the sound of her voice she was extremely worried.

"I'm not sure, Riku didn't fully explain, but I think they're like vampires, though they live off of souls instead of blood, which makes them worse than vampires."

Kairi covered her mouth and stared out the window after her friend, thinking, _'Be careful, Riku_.'

Riku turned to face the Daimons. "What do you want?" he said, thinking to keep them talking as he studied them.

One had short dark silver hair, he was very well muscled, tall and kind of handsome in a rugged sort of way.

The others hair was also silver but slightly lighter and reaching just past his shoulder blades, only slightly longer than Riku's own. He was a little shorter than the other and not quite as muscled.

"We want your blood, Riku." Said the one with longer hair.

Riku smirked at that. "Well you certainly can't have my soul."

"Loz." The long haired Daimon spoke again.

The one called Loz didn't need to ask what the other wanted. He flexed his right arm a moment before a long blade came out of some contraption attached to his wrist and lower arm, then lunging forward, headed straight for Riku.

Sora watched from the other side of the double doors of the ice arena as Riku moved into a fighting stance, a sword shimmering into existence in his right hand, he then raised it just in time to block the first attack.

_'I have to help him._' Sora thought as he grabbed the doors handles and pulled on them, only to find that they wouldn't budge. "Kairi! Unlock the doors I need to help Riku!"

"But...I didn't lock them." Stated the red-head.

Sora stopped and looked at her. "Then, why wont the doors open?"

At that, Kairi shrugged, she really had no idea.

Riku pushed Loz back with his sword and jumped away as the man lunged at him again. Landing just shy of the doors he smiled when he heard rattling sounds from behind him. _'Try all you want, Sora_. _There's no way I'm letting you open those doors._' Wanting to make sure the Daimons went no where near Sora or Kairi, Riku flashed himself to a spot on the quiet roads that was a short distance away from Loz and grinned as he watched the man look around himself in confusion.

"What's wrong? Is that all you got?"

Hearing Riku's mocking voice, Loz turned to his right to see the young man a few feet away from him. Pissed off at the tone of voice he was using, Loz ran towards him at high speed, blade raised and waiting to strike.

Riku shook his head as Loz came at him and raised his own weapon, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks. Strike after strike after strike, neither one managing to land a successful blow.

Coming away from each-other for a second, they both began to circle the other, each studying their opponents moves, waiting for a signal that the other was about to attack. It was at that moment that Loz noticed something.

"Hey, Yazoo! You were right about brother leaving his mark. Check out the guys hair."

"Ah yes, the blood." Said the one with long hair, Yazoo.

Riku looked to the man for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

"Brother came to us right after he had killed you. He was bragging about having tortured and killed some human. He gave us all the details, including the fact that, as he always did, he left his mark, soaking his victims hair in their own blood." As he spoke, Yazoo was slowly making his way over to the Dark-Hunter, almost daring Riku to attack.

Riku watched the man carefully, watching for any movement that would betray an attack, but the man didn't even reach for a weapon before he came within inches of him and reached a hand up to fondle a locke of Riku's hair, twisting it around his index finger for a moment before saying. "I wonder if his essence is attached to you because of this."

The silver haired man smiled as he suddenly felt the tip of a blade beneath his chin. "Back off." Growled Riku. But Yazoo's smile never faded as he raised his arms in surrender and turned to walk away, only to reach for his own weapon from inside his coat and spinning on the spot.

Surprised by the sudden movement since there had been no sign of the attack, Riku's reaction wasn't fast enough and the mans sword-which looked like it could also act as a gun-stopped just short of cutting Riku's head off.

Yazoo's smile grew a little wider as he lifted a hand to catch a few strands of silver and crimson hair as they fell onto Riku's shoulder along with a little blood, the weapon had severed a chunk of hair as it had cut into his neck just enough to draw blood.

Riku stood there stunned, he had almost become a shade.

Suddenly their was a shout as Riku lost his hold on the arena doors and Sora and Kairi came running out. "Get away from him you bastards!"

"Mmmm perfect. I could use a fresh soul or two soon." Said Loz as he saw the two people come running.

"No! Loz, we have what we came for. For now at least. Let's go."

"But..." Loz pouted and retracted his weapon back into the device on his arm, "Alright." Sighing, he went to join Yazoo as the man took one more look at the dazed Riku as he tenderly stroked the spot his weapon had cut into. "Soon brother...Soon you'll have your life back." And with that, he moved away and created a portal before stepping through it, shortly followed by Loz."

Sora watched as the portal disappeared along with the two Daimons, before running to Riku. "Riku! Are you okay?"

Hearing Sora's voice, Riku shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine." he said, then winced a little as Sora examined the cut on his neck.

"What did he mean? 'We have what we came for'? What did they want with your blood?" Asked Kairi.

"I have no idea." Replied Riku as he made his sword disappear. Then Sora noticed the small section of hair that was now shorter than the rest, cut off where the blade had cut into his neck, just below his right ear.

_'They have his hair too?'_ Sora thought then said. "C'mon, we better get back before we get ambushed again."

"I can handle it, Sora." Riku said.

"No, Riku! I can't stand watching you fight on your own like that and you almost got your head cut off! I know what would happen to you if you were killed, Riku. I am not gonna just stand here and let you become a fucking shade!" Sora yelled as he glared at Riku, tears forming in his eyes. "I was so scared. I wanted to help but I couldn't even open the door to get to you."

Riku stared at Sora, an almost shocked expression on his face. Sora had never yelled at him like that and he looked so defiant. "I'm sorry, Sora. I just couldn't risk it. I don't even know if you could of defended yourself." he said, wrapping his arms around the brunette.

"He has a point though, Riku. You shouldn't be fighting alone when there are people willing and able to fight with you." Said Kairi as she moved to stand close to the couple and put an arm on each of their shoulders. "Now come on you two. We should tell Kyrian and Amanda what happened."

Riku looked at Kairi then. "How can they help?"

Kairi smiled as she said. "Kyrian used to be a Dark-Hunter himself and still retains his powers, he can help."

_'Used to be?'_ Thought Riku.

"C'mon, let's go already." Said Kairi as she headed of in front, taking off for their house without them.

"You okay, Sora?" Riku asked the brunette as he lifted his chin to search his expression.

"Yeah, let's catch up with Kairi before she gets into trouble."

"Yeah, let's go."

With that, the two lovers parted and started after their friend.

--------------------

Kalosis. In a part of the Atlantean hell realm where the darkness was so thick it would drive the sanest of people crazy, where some of the most evil of souls were tortured.

Suddenly a patch of the darkness began to swirl as a portal was opened shortly before two men stepped out of it.

"Yazoo, why do we have to keep coming here?" Asked Loz as the portal closed behind them.

"What's wrong, Loz? Are all the screams starting to upset you?" Yazoo replied as he felt along the walls for a torch, then, after finding one, lit the end with a lighter from his pocket. Once the area had a little light, the silver haired man looked around. They were in a large cell, there were numerous chains attached to the walls and the ground beneath those chains was covered with dried blood from the previous occupant.

Seeing what he was looking for, Yazoo walked to the centre of the room and crouched down, placing his weapon on the ground before lifting a small section of the ground away in order to retrieve what looked like a small urn.

"Can we bring him back yet?" Asked Loz as he watched his brother.

"No." Replied Yazoo, setting the urn down and removing the lid. Upon hearing a short sniffle he frowned, pulling a face of disgust. "Don't cry, Loz. It's pathetic."

"I wasn't crying." he lied watching as Yazoo dropped the hair of that hated Dark-Hunter into the urn, then stood to hand the torch over to Loz before lifting his blade, using a little magic to lift Riku's blood from it. The small amount of crimson liquid came free from the blade and hovered mid-air for a moment before it too was dropped into the urn, mixing with the hair and what had once looked like a golden dust.

"Not long now brother. All we need now is the hunter that killed you to come here willingly and I know just how to make that happen."

Loz frowned at that and scratched his head, thinking for a moment. "How are we gonna do that?"

Yazoo smiled wickedly. "You'll see, you'll see."

--------------------

Back at Sora's house...

"So they ambushed you and just left after drawing Riku's blood and slicing of a locke of his hair?" Amanda said, clarifying what she and her husband had just been told.

Sora had had no problem waking the two of them up the second he, Riku and Kairi had walked through the door.

"Uh-huh." Sora nodded in confirmation.

"Any idea what they would want with it?" Asked Kairi, bringing in a tray full of mugs containing coffee with her from the kitchen and setting them on the coffee table before taking a mug for herself and sitting in one of the arm chairs.

"I'm not sure. Nothing comes to mind. Riku, are you sure you don't remember what happened?" Asked Kyrian.

"Yeah, most of my memories came back at the arena but I don't remember that night for some reason." Riku replied as he sipped the hot liquid. "The last thing I remember from before is the photoshoot, if I try to remember past that I just draw a blank."

"Then maybe if we find a way to make you remember what happened to you we'd be able to figure out what those Daimons are doing." Said Kyrian.

"Maybe." Riku said quietly, he wasn't sure he even wanted to remember such a thing. Suddenly feeling someone holding his hand he looked beside him to see that Sora was smiling just a little as he held his hand reassuringly. Squeezing the hand that held his, Riku looked to Kyrian before saying. "Alright, what do we have to do?"

"Well, first I think we should re-enact as much of that night as possible. That being said, Talon can't be here, his wife is sick and he has to take care of her so maybe we could simply take you to where we last saw you before you disappeared."

"Wait. Talon's married?" Asked, Riku.

Amanda smiled at that. "Yes, for a little over a year now, to a woman named Sunshine, they're quite devoted to each-other."

_'Wow.'_ thought Riku, _'I never thought he'd marry and settle down_.'

"We better get started while there's plenty of time." Stated Kyrian.

"What do you mean?" Asked Sora.

"Well, Riku's a Dark-Hunter, he can't be exposed to sunlight unless he wants to turn into dust like the Daimons. If we leave now we have a few hours before sun-up. It's either that or wait til tomorrow and I have a feeling this would be better dealt with as soon as possible."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Said Riku, putting the mug he was holding back on the coffee table as he stood.

Hearing that, Kyrian nodded before he and Amanda went to get their coats and the keys to Kyrian's car.

Kairi, deciding to give the lovers a moment alone, picked up the tray of half full coffee mugs and left to take them away.

The moment he was alone with Riku, Sora stood, took both his boyfriends hands in his and looked him in the eyes as he asked. "Are you absolutely sure you wanna do this?" He wasn't sure why, but he was worried about what might happen when Riku remembered his own death, though maybe it was as simple as him not really wanting to know himself what had happened to his angel that night.

Riku, seeing the concern in those eyes, leaned forward a little and touched his forehead to Sora's. "It's alright, I'm sure. Whatever those Daimons are planning it can't be good, if knowing what happened that night will help figure out what it is they're planning and helps us stop them, then I'll go through with it." Placing his thumb and index finger beneath Sora's chin, Riku lifted the brunettes face before closing his eyes and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Melting into the kiss, Sora wrapped his arms around Riku's neck as he opened his mouth a little, inviting the man in his arms to explore his mouth and he groaned when he felt Riku's tongue dance with his own.

"You guys ready?" Said Amanda as she came into the room, she then smiled at what she saw.

Breaking the kiss, Sora smiled as he tightened the embrace and rested his head on Riku's shoulder. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too, Sora." Riku returned. Then, breaking contact entirely, said to Amanda. "We're ready."

With that, they all went outside, Sora locking up behind them as they went to the car, Riku and Sora sitting together in the back with Kairi beside them, Kyrian driving and Amanda sitting shot gun next to her husband.

After the car had started moving and they were headed to wherever they thought his missing memories lay, Riku started to dread what might surface once they got to their destination. Closing his eyes for a moment, he rested his head on the car window, just as he felt Sora taking his hand in his own.

"It's okay you know, whatever happens I'm right here with you."

Riku couldn't help but smile at his boyfriends words as he said. "I know, thanks."

Sora then rested his head on Riku's shoulder, he was so tired, but he couldn't fall asleep, not yet. Riku needed him and he'd be there, there was no way in hell he was going to let anything pull them apart again.

--------------------

Once they had arrived at their destination, Kyrian stopped the car and turned to Riku.. "This is the place, the last location anyone saw you that night before you disappeared. Are you ready for this."

Riku looked at Kyrian, nothing but cold determination in his eyes as he nodded his head, then opened the door and stepped out of the car, followed shortly by Sora.

"Kairi, Amanda. I want you both to stay here." Said Kyrian as, leaving the keys in the ignition, the former Dark-Hunter got out of the car and shut the door behind him.

"Stay here, but why?" Asked Kairi.

"We might need a quick getaway, having someone already in the drivers seat and ready to open the doors for us could give us precious seconds." Kyrian said as he bent over to talk through the window, as he spoke, Amanda unbuckled her seat belt before moving to the drivers seat.

Leaning a little further into the car, Kyrian pressed warm lips against Amanda's. "I love you. If we need back up I'll call alright?"

"Alright, be careful honey. I love you too."

With that the trio walked off ,entering the building, each hoping they were ready and prepared for whatever might happen.

--------------------

**_Well that's it for chapter 4, hopefully it wont take me so long to post the next chapter. XD Review please, I wanna know what you think._**


	5. Out Clause

**_I am so sorry it took me so long to update. I can't believe how long I left it! D8 (That's what you get when you start original fiction! _ )_**

**_Oh well, it's back now at least. Sorry it isn't exactly long but, here it is at last._**

**_Chapter 5, happy reading! XD_**

**_Disclaimer; I do not own kingdom hearts or the dark-hunters_**

* * *

The moment Riku entered the building, he wanted to cover his ears against the incredibly loud music, which forced his heart to beat in time with the harsh thudding of the bass. The only reason he didn't was due to the flashing of the strobe lights hurting his eyes so much that he was forced to cover his eyes with a hand. Thankfully someone grabbed his free hand and started pulling at it, leading him through a seemingly endless crowd of dancers until the noise quieted a little as a door was slammed shut behind him.

"You can open your eyes Riku. We're away from the strobe lights." Came Kyrian's voice in the darkness.

Riku lowered the hand shielding his eyes and opened them. "I hate these places, they give me a headache."

Kyrian chuckled at that. "I remember thinking the same thing. Though becoming human again didn't exactly change my mind."

"You OK?" Asked Sora.

Riku looked at the brunette. "Yeah, I'm alright." he said, seeing the concern in his eyes. Finally paying attention to his surroundings, Riku noticed that Sora was still holding his hand and squeezed it in gentle reassurance as he looked around the room, studying the dim lighting, the speakers on the burgundy coloured walls and the mini bar.

"You remember anything yet?" Asked Kyrian.

"I'm not sure. The atmosphere here is familiar but...wait." his dark eyes had just fallen on the small stage with a dancing pole at it's centre

"What, Is something coming back?" Asked Sora.

A few seconds later, Riku smirked at what he had just remembered. "Yeah, I just remembered something that happened in this room. Amanda hired a dancer that night. Heh she was furious when a woman came onto the stage. She had apparently paid for a man and when she started dancing she stormed out of the room." he started to laugh then at the memory."Then the dancer started trying to seduce me, I laughed so much it hurt, I just couldn't help it."

"Talon couldn't either. It was me who had to explain to the woman what was so damn funny." Said Kyrian, telling Sora what had happened after that, and as the man spoke, Riku's blood ran cold with a sudden, deep sense of dread as more memories began to return. Sora noticed his sudden silence as the hand in his tightened it's grip. Looking at Riku, he saw that he was tense, and still as a statue.

"Riku?"

"A-After they left the room. Talon and I, we opened the bottle of wine that was behind the mini bar. But it...it's aftertaste was like the smell of roses. I remember excusing myself and running for the fire exit..."

"That was the last time any of us saw you." Said Kyrian.

Sora looked over at him, then back at Riku. This was it, he was about to find out what had happened five years ago. The question was, did he really want to know? Suddenly Riku tore his hand free of Sora's and ran for the door, before heading out the emergency exit. Knowing where he was headed, Kyrian followed with Sora just behind him.

Sora and Kyrian both stopped once they got outside. Riku was stood, leaning against the wall lining the club, breathing heavily. "Riku?" Sora said, tentatively walking over to the dark-hunter.

"Don't."

Sora span, startled by Kyrian's voice. "What? Why not?"

"I think he's caught up in a memory," Kyrian explained. "If it's violent, and it probably is, he could lash out at you without thinking, not realising it's you."

Hesitating for only a moment, Sora suddenly looked determined, before he turned back to Riku. "Riku?" he said, and almost jumped back when he jolted at the sudden outside noise. "Riku, it's me, Sora. What are you seeing? Tell me." Suddenly Riku looked up, and Sora was seeing into brilliant neptune topaz for the first time in just over five years, not only that, he was falling into them, into darkness.

"Sora!" Shouted Kyrian as he saw Sora collapse. Running over to them, he moved the brunette into a more comfortable position, checking that he was alright. Suddenly he heard a sharp gasp come from Riku, just before he sank to his knees, panting as though in pain. "You alright kid?" he asked.

"Ahh it hurts." Riku groaned through gritted teeth.

"What does?"

"Is Sora alright, what happened?"

"I don't know what happened, but I think he's just passed out. Now what hurts?"

Riku closed his eyes and held his head in his hands. "Everything, it feels as though something drained all my strength, my powers, and the pain is an after effect."

At that, Kyrian frowned. "Riku, look at me."

He did, Riku opened pained eyes and looked up at the man, and after seeing the natural colour in them, Kyrian said. "Looks like you found your out clause."

"Out clause?"

"Didn't Ash tell you? As a Dark-hunter you have a chance to regain your soul, become human again. Though it can only happen if something causes your powers to drain, making you temporarily human and putting the natural colour back into your eyes, trouble is, it can hurt like hell."

Riku grimaced at the pain he felt. "So how do I become human permanently?"

Kyrian was just about to answer, when a portal appeared and out walked Loz and Yazoo, along with three others. "What do you want?" he growled.

They didn't answer, instead the two with silver hair simply smirked at him. _'Daimons with silver hair, what's with that? I thought they were all blonde's.'_

"Get the blond." Said Yazoo.

_'Great, I have to keep them away from Sora and Riku' _Thought Kyrian, knowing Riku couldn't fight right now. "Riku, stay with Sora alright? You won't be able to fight very well until your powers return."

Riku nodded, then cringed as the movement caused more pain. Feeling utterly useless, he watched as Kyrian moved to get closer to the daimons.

Kyrian got to his feet just as three of them came at him. Not paying attention to what they looked like, he span, the movement putting extra momentum into the kick he delivered to daimon no.1's stomach, causing him to fall back gasping. Before that one had even hit the ground, another had grabbed Kyrian from behind and was holding a knife to his throat just as the third came up in front, brandishing a sword. Grinning, Kyrian reached up and grabbed the hand holding a blade at his throat and threw the daimon over his shoulder, knocking the other down at the same time. Crouching down, he pulled the sword from the daimon no.3 as he squirmed beneath daimon no.2. He then turned to Yazoo. "You should hire stronger lackeys next time you want someone else to do your dirty work for you."

"No need, it's being taken care of." Yazoo said with a small grin.

"What?" Just then he heard a small chuckle from behind, and whirled around, sword at just the right height to cut through the neck of the daimon he had winded moments ago. "Idiots should learn how to fight." he said as he became nothing but dust, and he turned his attention to the blond who had just decided to avenge his friend.

Riku watched as Kyrian fought. _"Wow, he's good." _he thought before closing his eyes for a moment, trying to ease the ache behind them as he wished he could help. Just as he opened his eyes again, he felt a pair of hands grab him by his throat, pinning him back against the wall. "G...Get off!" he gasped as he tried to pry the daimons hands away. Stealing a glance at where Sora lay, Riku's heart stopped. Loz had him over his shoulder and had just opened a portal. "So-ra." Riku tried again in vain to get free of the blond daimons tight hold, but losing his dark-hunter powers had weakened him. He looked around frantically for Kyrian, and when he saw the ex dark-hunter fighting, he tried to shout out to the man, only to have his voice cut off as the daimon with his hands around his throat tightened his grip, cutting off his air supply completely.

"Hey! Yazoo said not to kill him!"

Suddenly Riku was free and he could breathe again. Gasping for air, he looked up as Loz walked through the portal, with Sora, the blond reluctantly following behind. "Sora!" he shouted, attempting to stand but he just couldn't.

"Don't bother." Riku turned his head to see Yazoo, calmly walking over to the portal. "You want to save Sora, then you have to find him first. Chase your memories, we'll be waiting for you." At that he stepped through, closing the portal behind him.

"What is he talking about, what do they want from me?" Riku asked, his heart now hammering against his rib cage, as he tried again to get to his feet. _"I have to save Sora." _That thought made him gasp, just as Kyrian ran over to him after dusting the last daimon.

"Riku, are you alright, where did they go?" his words went unheard though, as a single word forced it's way into Riku's mind.

"Sanctuary."

"What?"

Riku looked up at Kyrian, his expression determined. "I need to go to a place called Sanctuary. I think that's where they took Sora."

"Come on then, I know where it is." Kyrian offered Riku a hand then, and he took it. Helping him to his feet, Kyrian let the powerless dark-hunter use him for support as they headed for the car.

* * *

"Jeez, Kyrian, what happened?! Where's Sora?!" Gasped Amanda when she saw her husband exit the building, supporting Riku.

"Riku, are you alright?" Asked Kairi once her friend had gotten into the seat beside her. She watched as he leaned back against the head rest, his eyes closed and looking afraid.

"He'll be alright, his strength will come back soon, his powers may take a little longer though. He found his out clause, and something happened with Sora. Then we were ambushed and he was kidnapped."

"We need to get to Sanctuary, now." Riku said, his voice tight.

"Riku?"

"I'm alright Kairi, like Kyrian said, I'll be fine."

"But, Riku. Your hair, it's wet."

"What?"

Kairi reached over to touch a locke of his hair, her fingers coming away slightly damp, a red substance on them.

"What the..." Riku inspected his own hair then, only to find that not only were the crimson streaks wet, but what came away looked and felt like blood. "What the hell?"

"What is it Riku?" Asked Amanda, turning to look at him, concern in her eyes.

"My hair, it's...bleeding?" he was staring at it now, and as Amanda looked, she realised that more of his hair was red than she remembered.

"That's so weird." Whispered Kairi.

Shaking it off as meaningless, Riku looked up to see that Kyrian was looking at him now as well. "Sanctuary." he said. It was all he needed to say,Turning to face the front again, Kyrian started the engine and they headed to Sanctuary. To find out what those silver haired daimons wanted with Riku. And to save Sora.

* * *

**_Let me know what you think, will try to get the next chapter up soon, but the only promise I am willing to make right now is that I will finish this no matter what! XD_**


	6. Return of a killer

**_OK updating a little faster this time, Yay! This is the chapter that was slowing me down, so hopefully things will start to go a little smoother when it comes to getting this finished. Only a couple more chapters to go now._**

**_Anyway, here's chapter six_**

**_Enjoy XD_**

**_Disclaimer; I do not own any of the characters from_****_ Kingdom Hearts or anything from the Dark Hunter universe, nor will I ever try to get any kind of profit from this fanfiction._**

**OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Opening his eyes, Sora groaned a little "Uhh What the...Where am I?" he said, though the words were a little raspy. He then looked around a little before realising how dark it was, and that he could barely move as his hands were stuck above his head. The moment he realised this, he began to struggle, only to grimace and almost cry out as a sharp, aching pain hit his wrists, and remained when he stopped, something was pinning him to the wall, something that felt like daggers through his wrists. _"Shit, what happened?"_ he thought, the last thing he remembered was looking into Riku's eyes, after that everything was blank until a moment ago.

Lowering his head he closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again he caught sight of his hair. _"Wait, it's too dark I shouldn't be able to see it,"_ he thought after a moment before realising that it wasn't brown, it was silver, and a couple of inches longer. "What the hell? What's going on?" His heart thudding in his chest, Sora froze as he heard footsteps as someone walked over to him, moments before he felt strong fingers roughly pull his chin up to face them.

"Mmm I'm going to have fun making you scream." Said the man Sora could barely see. There was something about the way he said it that told him that this man really would enjoy doing just that.

Just moments later, Sora felt intense pain in his stomach as the man stabbed him. Gritting his teeth stubbornly against the yell trying to escape his lips, he unconsciously tried to double over in pain, only to cause more from his wrists.

"Having fun I see." Came a new voice.

"Heheh I will be when I hear his screams." said the man who was so close to Sora, he could smell his breath as he spoke.

"Good luck with that." Said the new comer before he went silent, and Sora had to fight against more pain.

Suddenly, he felt something in the atmosphere change and shift, and then he was on his front on the cold solid ground, dealing with unbelievable pain, everything hurt, and he felt a weakness so intense it scared him. His eyes were closed, until he felt fingers running through his hair and they shot open.

"Hey Tru! Shall I sing him to sleep make it easier on him?"

As he looked at the silver haired man, his eyes wide, Sora briefly caught his reflection in his eyes. Only it wasn't his that he saw. _"What? I'm inside Riku's body? This can't be...No!" _he thought as he suddenly realised he was trapped inside a memory, he was literally living out what had happened to Riku. That simple thought terrified him, he was about to find out what had made his fiancee a Dark-Hunter, and the cause behind his memory loss.

His heart beating so fast he thought it would burst, Sora wanted to escape this, but at the same time he needed to know what had happened.

Sora was vaguely aware of one of the men saying something but wasn't quite listening hard enough, then a stray thought, not his own crossed his mind as he realised he was now completely alone.

"I'm sorry...Sora...I love you."

And then the pain and weakness was gone as he realised he was now standing, looking down upon Riku. Taking a step back, a feeling of horror swept through him as he thought. "He's dead. I just lived out his death."

Shaking, he covered his mouth as he unconsciously took a few steps backwards, tears streaming down his face.

"It's alright Sora. It's just a memory."

At that, Sora turned around so fast that he fell back and had to stop himself with his hands. "Who are you?" he gasped.

"My name is Acheron, though you can call me Ash."

Sora looked the man over, he was so damn tall! He had to be at least six foot eight. His long black hair fell freely around his shoulders, a flash of green to one side, his eyes were a strange swirling silver, and he wore nothing but black. He was was one of the most handsome men Sora had ever seen, but all he could think about was his lover. "Why did this have to happen?"

"It isn't over yet." Acheron said as a beautiful woman came around the corner.

"Who is that?"

"Artemis, she's the one who made Riku what he is, she took his soul."

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Riku, Kairi, Kyrian and Amanda all stood outside the club named Sanctuary, the man at the door staring at them.

"You sure this is the right place?" Asked Kairi.

Riku simply nodded and walked forward, only to be stopped at the door.

"Got any I.D. kid?"

Riku smirked, getting his I.D. from his coat pocket and showing the man, who after inspecting it, nodded and moved out of their way.

Once he stepped inside, Riku almost sighed with relief. The place was loud, crowded, and hot, though mercifully free of any flashing lights.

"Now what? Came Kairi's voice as she shouted in his ear."

Riku just shrugged, he didn't know, all he had gotten was an image of the front of the building in his head. He knew they were in the right place, but nothing more. Yet. Suddenly feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see the bouncer who had just let them in.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" The man asked, shouting above the music that was playing.

Riku frowned before shouting. "No, I don't think so!"

"What are you getting at?" Asked Kyrian.

"I'm sorry, but I could swear I've seen him before." The man looked thoughtful for a moment before he suddenly snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

"What?" Riku shouted. If he really had been here before, then he needed to know.

"Follow me, I can't show you here. Don't worry, someone has me covered." With that they followed him, not really having much choice but to follow or not, the man couldn't explain himself right there very well, since they could barely hear him.

Moments later they were walking into a room full of surveillance equipment. There were tapes, DVDs, TV monitors and recording equipment everywhere.

"Now where is it?" The man said, talking to himself as he looked through the DVDs, probably looking for something marked with a specific time and date.

"Riku, are you alright?" Kairi asked, her friend hadn't taken his eyes off of the bouncers once yet.

"Yeah, I think so." he said, though in all honesty, he wanted his powers to hurry and return, before his lack of strength got them into trouble.

"Ah, here it is." Said the bouncer all of a sudden, pulling a disc out of a folder. Moving over to the monitor, he placed the disc in the connected DVD player and pressed play, fast forwarding until he found what he was looking for. He then pressed play and stood back so that they could all see the screen. "See, I knew I had seen you before."

Gathering around him, they all watched as the video footage revealed the night darkened street that was just in front of the bar. As he watched, Riku's eyes widened and he moved closer to the screen. He'd just recognized himself, standing just under a street lamp, covered in blood. Suddenly the pause button was hit and the picture zoomed in.

Now the others could see clearly, it was definitely Riku in the image.

"Riku?" Amanda said, beginning to feel concerned as he was suddenly quite still.

For a moment Riku stood there, staring at the screen with unfocused eyes, before he suddenly took off out of the room and through the crowded dance floor.

"Riku wait!" Kairi cried as she ran after him, Kyrian and Amanda thanked the man before going after them both.

Looking around, Riku noticed a set of stairs and ran for them, pushing through the dancers, not caring about the glares he was likely receiving as he shoved past them to get to the stairs. Once he got to the top of those stairs, he burst through the door of one of the rooms and stopped, gasping for breath as he looked around. The room was quite big, the only colours being black and red, with a single bed in the centre.

"I've been here before."

"Riku!" Came Kairi's voice as she ran into the room after him. Gasping, she went over to him only to notice that the crimson that made it seem as though his hair was bleeding, was spreading slowly through it. Not thinking, she reached up and touched it out of curiosity, only for him to jump out of his skin at the gentle touch. "Sorry." she said, but he didn't answer, he just stood there. Walking around to face him, she saw that he wasn't really looking at anything, but his eyes were intense, as though he was either angry or afraid.

"What are you seeing, Riku?" Suddenly she was grabbed by the arm and she yelped as Riku pulled her up against the wall so fast and hard that her arm almost came out of it's joint as she was pinned. "Ow! Riku stop it! What are you doing?" Then there was an almost mad glint in his eyes before he suddenly gasped and let go of her.

"I...I'm sorry Kairi." Riku said so quietly it was almost a whisper as he looked away from his friend as though ashamed of himself. Closing his eyes for a moment, he covered them with one hand as he tried to clear his head. Those images, they had been so clear he had thought they were really happening. Opening his eyes again a few moments later, he lowered his hand, only to stare at it in shock, his hands were covered in blood. Snapping his attention to Kairi, he saw the sickening substance all over her, not only that but it was everywhere, the walls, the carpet, he could have sworn they were clean a moment ago. _"What's happening to me?_" he thought as he shut his eyes against the vision.

"Riku, what are you seeing?" Kairi asked when she realized he was shaking a little.

"I'm sorry Kairi, I didn't realize it was you, I'd never hurt you like that." Riku said in a small voice, refusing to open his eyes.

"It's alright, I'm fine. See, I'm not hurt at all." Kairi said, twirling around on the spot to show him that she was unharmed.

Opening his eyes just in time to see her twirl, Riku cringed and reached out to her. "But you're covered in blood, it's everywhere." He couldn't stop shaking at the thought of what he had just done. Just then, the door opened again and he felt a hand on his shoulder, heard a voice in his ear.

"You OK?"

"Kyrian?"

"Riku, what happened here?"

Riku suddenly froze as another wave of memories flooded his mind.

_Flash_

_He was holding someone against the wall._

_Flash_

_A dagger manifested in his hand and he plunged the blade into the mans eye._

_Flash_

_Pulling the blade free he stabbed him through the heart._

_Flash_

_He had just impaled another man to the bed. He suddenly remembered that these were the men who had murdered him and threatened Sora's life. Remembered the fear, anger and utter hatred he had felt that night._

_Flash_

_Ash was there, stroking his hair, his soothing yet deep voice in his ear, making him feel weak, as though all he wanted to do now was sleep._

_"That's it boy, sleep will make everything so much easier."_

"Riku!" Kyrian shouted again, as he held Riku by the shoulders and shook him, trying to break him away from whatever vision he was having. It wasn't helping, and the Dark-Hunter looked as though he was about to pass out or something. "Snap out of it!" he shouted again, this time slapping his cheek.

That worked, Riku suddenly took a deep breath as though he had been holding it, Kyrian then watched as his eyes darted around the room.

"What happened?" Asked Amanda as she entered the room.

"Riku saw something." Kairi said, not mentioning his momentary attack against her.

Looking at Riku, Amanda saw that he seemed very wary of this room. "Riku, what's wrong, what did you see?"

Riku looked at her, trying to focus. "I..."

Before he could continue, a new voice answered the question for him. "He just remembered murdering my brother."

Turning to look for the source of that voice, they saw that Yazoo was just stepping out of a swirling black portal.

"What do you want?" Demanded Kairi, but she had barely gotten the question out when Riku asked his own.

"Where's Sora, what have you done with him?"

"Come with me and find out." Yazoo said in a calm voice, before walking back through, leaving the portal open.

Riku started forward, only for Kairi to grab his arm, pulling him back. "Don't Riku, it's a trap."

"I don't care." he said, determination obvious in his eyes as he tugged his arm free and ran through the portal after Yazoo.

It wasn't until she saw Kyrian go past that she found herself running after him. They were too late though, the portal closed before either of them reached it.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sora sank to the ground, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. He had just stood and watched as Riku not only killed, but tortured the two men responsible for his death. He'd felt an insatiable blood lust in the air the entire time. It had gone now though, as Riku now sat, gripping the sword that was still plunged into the single bed, looking for all the world as though he wanted nothing more than to return to the dead.

"I...I can't watch anymore." Sora whispered, never the less, he couldn't look away as the very man who had brought him here, walked over to talk to Riku. "What? How...?"

Ash was still beside him. "This is a memory replaying for you as a dream." he explained as the memory of him carried Riku away, just before everything went dark again, this time though it remained that way, though Sora still heard Acheron's voice.

"I can give you a way to return Riku's soul to him, Sora. Can you handle it?"

"Yes, whatever it is I _will_ handle it." Sora replied to the darkness.

"Are you sure?"

Sora felt his resolve strengthen as he replied. "Yes, what do I have to do?"

"I will get his soul to you through your friends, it will be in the shape of a medallion, you must hold it to the double bow and arrow tattoo on his body."

Sora immediately remembered the symbol he had seen tattooed on the small of Riku's back.

"It will feel extremely hot, the moment you touch it, it will hurt like nothing you have ever felt before, you mustn't drop it, no matter what, or you'll lose him forever."

Sora took a breath. "I wont drop it."

"This is where you have to stay strong."

Sora continued to listen.

"While he is still powerless, you must kill him, the only way his soul can re-enter his body is if his heart has stopped. It will not work if he isn't dead."

Sora froze.

"Sora. Do not attempt this if you think you can't do it."

"No, I can. I will, I have to. I'll do it..."

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Riku looked around, attempting to take in his surroundings. Unfortunately it was a little difficult for his human eyes.

"Where's Sora!" he shouted into the darkness, barely covering his frustration.

"Right here." Came a voice that sounded like Yazoo. Just then, light entered the room as the silver hair Daimon lit a torch on the wall. Revealing not only himself and Loz, but also...chained and slumped against the wall, was...

"Sora!"

Yazoo smiled as the Dark Hunter walked closer to his lover, seemingly forgetting that they were there.

"Sora...?" Riku whispered as he knelt before the young man. His hair hung limply, covering his face, his breathing was heavy but other than that, he wasn't moving, obviously unconscious. "Unchain him. Let him go."

"heheh Not until we have what we want." Came Loz's voice from behind him.

"And what would that be?"

Loz smirked. "Our brother, Kadaj. You killed him, you bring him back."

At that, Riku stood, turning to face them at the same time. "Are you insane? I'm a Dark Hunter, not a God. I couldn't do that, not even if I wanted to."

"Oh you will." Said Yazoo,who suddenly revealed a dagger in his right hand and with a flick of his wrist, the dagger flew right past Riku's head, embedding itself in the wall right beside Sora, barely missing the brunettes neck.

Riku's heart raced as he glared at them. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"With this." Yazoo said, lifting a chalice from a small alter near where he stood. "You don't even have to do much. Just drink the contents of this, and our brother will be freed, as well as your precious Sora."

Something stirred within Riku at those words, a feeling that wasn't his own, something akin to excitement and impatience. Ignoring it, he said. "I can't do that, the things he must have done."

"Need we remind you of Sora's predicament?"

Clenching his fists at his sides, Riku thought to himself as he looked at the man he loved. _"What can I do, Sora?" _he thought. _I can't lose you, not now. Why did I have to follow him alone? Idiot!_" Sighing, knowing he had no other option without his Dark Hunter powers, Riku said. "What do I have to do?"

The two Daimons smirked as Loz walked over to Riku and handed him the chalice. "Drink that."

"What? How will that help?"

"It will unleash something from within you that will bring him back to us." Yazoo said in answer to his question.

Riku took the cup. The contents looked disgusting, thick, dark red, like blood. "What am I doing?" he thought, just as he felt a kind of manic anticipation not his own. Taking a deep breath, knowing there was nothing else he could do to save Sora, he downed the contents of the chalice.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sora's eyes opened slowly at first. _"Where am I?" _his mind was still foggy from dreaming so deeply. Looking up, his vision began to clear, and he saw Riku, standing mere feet away from him and drinking something from a chalice.

"R-iku?"

Hearing Sora, Riku froze, lowering the chalice, he stared at Sora. Suddenly he dropped the cup in his hands. He felt strange, like a thick, dense fog was filling his mind and he felt ghostly fingers running soothingly through his hair. "So-ra?" he started, just before everything blanked out and he collapsed to the floor.

Sora stared wide eyed as Riku seemed to pass out before he even hit the floor, what scared him more though, was that the crimson in his silver hair was now spreading and darkening, untill it looked as though Riku's hair was literally made of blood. "Riku?" he whispered, then everything cleared and he felt the restraints around his wrists, pulling at them in vain he shouted, "Riku!" And moments later his shout was seemingly answered as Riku's eyes opened and he smiled. But the smile was strangely triumphant as he clumsily got to his feet, moving almost as though his body was not his own.

"Hello Sora." Riku said as his eyes finally met Sora's. "You have no idea how long I have wanted to play with you."

Sora looked at him, confused. "Riku, what's wrong? What are you talking about."

Riku smirked as he strolled closer to Sora, drawing a frightened look from him. "Your lover is not...Aware right now."

"Riku!"

"Oh shut up Sora!" he said, slapping Sora's face so hard he split his lip.

Sora bit his lip, fighting back his fear as he tasted his own blood.

_Riku..._

_What happened?_

_OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO_

_**OK that's it for this chapter, let me know what you think and thanks for reading X3 **_


	7. A Hard Thing to Do

**_Wooooo! FINALLY! I finished chapter 7! _**

**_Alright, so I took forever...*hides* please don't kill me..._**

**_I apologize for this chapter not being longer, but I hope you like it anyway. After months of writers block, it's better than not updating at all, ever...Right?_**

**_Anyway, here's chapter 7 at last. One more to go XD_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from kingdom hearts or the dark hunter series, they belong to Square-Enix, Disney and Sherrilyn Kenyon :)_**

**_..._**

Opening his eyes, Kadaj smiled in triumph, he had been waiting for this for a long time, but had been unable to succeed due to Riku's amnesia. The moment the silverlet had remembered his own death, remembered him, he had felt something shift. A door had opened, and he had taken the first chance he'd gotten, using the effects of the potion to take control of this body. Awkwardly moving into a sitting position, he looked over to where, through Riku's eyes, he could see Sora, before getting to his feet.

Moving was strange at first, but it only took a few steps to perfect it, and as he got closer to Sora, he said. "Hello, Sora. You have no idea how long I have wanted to play with you."

"Riku, what's wrong? What are you talking about?"

Kadaj smirked as he drew even closer. "Your lover is not...Aware right now."

"Riku!"

"Oh shut up, Sora!" Kadaj said as he slapped the brunette across his face, he was getting irritating already. Seeing the small amount of blood on Sora's lips, he smiled. "It's sad that you didn't immediately figure out that I wasn't Riku. What would he think of that I wonder."

Sora looked up at the face of his Angel, saw the way he smiled, and glared. "Then who are you?"

Lifting a hand to touch pale fingers to Sora's bloodied lips, he said. "I'm Kadaj, the one who took Riku's life."

...

"How do we get to him?" Kairi asked frantically. The last twenty-four hours were proving to be a little too much for the young woman to handle, and she was starting to fear for her sanity.

Wrapping slender arms around her, Amanda said. "It'll be alright, Kairi. We'll figure something out."

Kyrian got his mobile phone out of his jeans pocket, dialled a number then held it to his ear. "C'mon, Ash. Answer your phone for once."

"No need." Came a deep, sexy voice from behind them, and all three of them turned to see Acheron coming towards them.

"'Bout time you showed up." Kyrian said, scowling at the man.

"I've been busy." Said Ash.

"Doin' what?"

Ash didn't answer, instead he turned his attention to Kairi as she came away from Amanda, staring, awestruck at the man who stood before her.

"Kairi, in a moment, I am going to open a portal that will lead you to your friends. Go through it and give this to Sora." Acheron said as he handed a small box to her.

"What is it?" Kairi asked as she took it from him.

"Sora will know what to do with it. All you have to do is get it to him, and whatever you do, don't touch it."

Kairi stared at him for a moment, before nodding that she understood. "Okay."

Acheron smiled before opening a portal beside her. "It'll be alright, so long as you get that to Sora, and he does as I instructed."

"I'll make sure he gets it." she said as she stepped through the portal.

Kyrian looked to his wife. "Stay here okay? I'll be right back." Turning back around, he stared as he realized that Acheron had closed the portal behind the red head. "Ash, what are you thinking? She'll be killed!"

"She'll be fine for now, Kyrian. Help when the time is right."

"Screw that Ash! They need help now!"

"If you go to help them now, they will lose a potential advantage and Riku will never get his soul back. He'll be a shade before the sun rises. Do you really want to be responsible for that?"

Kyrian glared at the man. "No."

"Then for now, you are simply back up."

"This sucks, Ash."

"Are you sure about this?" Asked Amanda as she approached them both.

"No."

"Not funny Ash."

"I know, but it's not up to me, it was out of my hands the moment I gave that box to Kairi."

It was then that both Kyrian and Amanda realised what was in that box, and Amanda couldn't help but rub her hand slightly, remembering the day she had returned something important to her husband. "That box..." she said.

Acheron nodded. "Contains the Medallion that holds Riku's soul."

...

Yazoo and Loz stood back, away from Sora and Riku, or, Riku's body anyway. "I thought brother was coming back." Loz whispered in a disappointed tone.

Yazoo rolled his eyes, Loz was such a fool. "He has, did you think he was going to simply appear, body intact? That's stupid, you see, I sensed him lying almost dormant inside the Dark Hunter. The moment I did, I knew we could bring him back. Even if, just in spirit."

Suddenly the air shifted a little. "We have a visitor."

Stepping out of the portal that had opened, Kairi looked around the dimly lit place.

"Stop her, do not let her interfere."

At those words, Loz ran at the red head.

Seeing the Daimon coming, Kairi waited till the last moment before dodging out of the way, and running to the other side of the cave like space. It was then that she saw Sora, chained to the wall behind him, a crimson haired man standing right in front of him, but not trying to free him.

"Hey, get away from Sora!" she shouted, but before she could do anything else, the man turned to face her and she gasped. "Riku?" she thought, but then, after seeing the way he was acting, she knew, "You're not Riku."

"Of course not, well, not in mind at least. This body however, does...did, belong to your friend." Kadaj said with a sadistic smile.

"Kairi, stay away!" yelled Sora as he began to struggle against his restraints again.

"No, Sora!" Kairi shouted, a look of determination crossing her features, as she turned her words to the man possessing Riku's body. "Get away from him!" As the words left her lips, she caught sight of Loz approaching her. Clutching the box in her hands as tightly as possible, she moved out of the way just as he swung his weapon at her and ran toward Sora, only for Kadaj to grab her by the arm, pulling the young woman towards him with such force that she dropped the box and fell into his waiting arms. "No! Let me go!" she shouted, struggling to break free to reclaim the box which had opened as it had hit the ground.

Sora's eyes widened at what he saw. "The Medallion." he whispered. He didn't know what to do, try to grab Riku's soul, or help Kairi. Either way he had to get free first and he couldn't return Riku's soul until he was...trying not to think about what had to happen, he started to struggle again, trying to wriggle his hands free from their restraints, not caring that his wrists were now bleeding from the effort, and actually hoping the blood would help to free him.

...

"This is insane Ash." Kyrian said as he paced back and forth. "We can't just stand here doing nothing."

Amanda was about to say something but thought better of it, since she knew he wouldn't have really listened right now anyway. Looking at Ash, she suddenly frowned, the man looked deep in thought. Closing the space between them, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Ash, what's wrong?"

Flinching at the sudden physical contact, Acheron turned to her. "Don't do that."

"Sorry."

"It's alright." he said before continuing. "He might not be able to do it."

"Do what?"

"Kyrian."

Hearing his own name, Kyrian stopped his pacing and turned to look at his friend. "What."

"I need you to go and help them, and if Sora appears unable to do what he has to. I want you to do it for him." As he said that, he held out his hand and summoned a long, intricate looking sword. and tossed it toward Kyrian. "That is the first sword Riku successfully created after becoming a dark-hunter." Watching as Kyrian caught the long blade, he finished. "I want you to get that to Sora, or use it yourself if you have to."

Kyrian stared at the blade, it felt light in his hands, even though it didn't look it, the hilt was encrusted with Sapphires and Neptune Topaz, while the actual blade had roses and vines engraved all along it. It really was one beautiful piece of art, deadly art, but art non the less. Looking up at Acheron with a determined expression, he said. "Count on me Ash, I'll do what I have to to save them." That said, Acheron opened the portal again and watched as the man stepped through.

...

"I'd be more careful if I were you. We wouldn't want you to bleed to death before I can torture you and your friends, now would we?" Kadaj said, before using his free hand to hold Kairi's head to one side as he grazed her neck teasingly with his fangs. Watching Sora's face the entire time.

Kairi's eyes widened with fear when she felt fangs at her neck. _"What can I do?"_ she thought as Sora yelled. "Get your hands off of her!"

Sword in hand, Kyrian stepped out of the portal. Looking around, it didn't take long for him to spot Sora. Or to see that Kairi was being held by some guy with red hair. Or that the two silver haired daimon's had just noticed him.

"Looks like we have more company." Said Yazoo. "Why don't you go play for a while Loz."

"With pleasure." Loz said, a smirk on his face before charging at the new comer.

Kyrian readied the sword he held, and instead of making the first strike, waited until Loz had raised his fist and readied his own weapon. The daimon was mere inches away from landing a blow when Kyrian struck. The sword sweeping down at just the right moment, severing his hand, weapon and all before Loz even realised what had happened.

"Ah! Fuck!" Loz yelled as he fell to his knees, clutching his wounded arm, in agony. "Why did you do that?" Looking up at the blond, Loz' eyes widened at the steely gaze he received. Before he could even think about his next move, the man's sword was plunged into his chest and he disappeared into nothing more than a pile of golden dust.

"Alright, who's next?" Kyrian growled, just as Yazoo met his gaze, a look of horror in his eyes. "I guess you'll do."

Sora watched as Yazoo began to raise his gunsword, even as Kyrian ran toward the Daimon. Sword raised, the former Dark-Hunter swung at the others blade just as the man fired, the blast creating a whole in the wall instead of Kyrian's body. He then side kicked him in the chest, sending Yazoo flying to the other side of the cavernous space. Not wanting to mess around any more than he already had, Kyrian walked right up to him, reaching down he wrapped a strong hand around the man's throat and pulled him up to his feet, just before running him through much the same way he had done to his brother.

That done, he turned to find his gaze locked with Sora's. "Sora! Apparently you know what to do. So do it!" he shouted, just before throwing the blade in his direction.

Sora watched as the sword flew at him, and found himself closing his eyes in fear of the blade actually hitting him. Instead he heard a loud clanging sound, before the sound of chains hitting the ground reached his ears. The sword had freed him.

Now that Sora was free and had what he needed to return Riku's soul to him, all Kyrian had left to worry about was getting Kairi away from any kind of danger. Looking at the young woman caused him to make eye contact with Riku, or Kadaj rather. The bloody haired man was staring at him, seemingly in shock. Kyrian smirked, he hadn't even realised that Sora was free yet. "Guess what, Kadaj. You're next."

Kairi looked up from where she had fallen to see Sora staring at the Medallion at his feet. "Sora? Sora!"

"Huh?" Sora uttered as he heard his friends voice, looking over at her, he realised that he was shaking. This was it, he had to do this, now. There was just no other way, he just hoped he could pull this off. Taking a deep breath, he whispered to himself; "I can do this." before turning around and quickly grabbing the hilt of the sword that had freed him. Ignoring the pain from his aching bleeding wrists, he pulled as hard as he could, almost falling when the blade came free of the wall. Then, gasping, he bent down to pick up the Medallion, but stopped just before touching the object. Ash had told him not to let go of it once he touched it, maybe it would be a good idea to avoid touching it directly for as long as possible. Standing again, he used the blade to tear off a section of his shirt before using the material to pick up the medallion so he could hold on to it without actually touching it.

"Sora?"

"It's alright Kairi." Sora said, his voice deceptively calmer than he felt. "I have to do this, I'm the only one who can."

"Be careful, please." Kairi said quietly, the worry she felt clear in her voice.

Sora nodded before locking a determined gaze in the direction of his possessed boyfriend, who had picked up Yazoo's gun sword and was now using it to fight Kyrian, who simply dodged every anger fueled attack. Taking a deep steadying breath, Sora took the first step towards them, his feet not making a sound as he attempted to get as close as possible to them without being noticed. "Keep him distracted Kyrian, please?"

Wishing he had thought to ask Ash for a second blade, or that he'd at least brought one of his own, Kyrian fought to dodge every angered attack Kadaj aimed at him. Swearing when he finally landed a blow to his right shoulder. "You know? It wasn't my fault your brothers didn't learn how to fight very well." he said between gritted teeth as he dodged another strike.

"Shut up!" Kadaj yelled in fury. Damn this human was fast. he thought as he lunged for him again.

Jumping out of the way, Kyrian suddenly noticed Sora steadily approaching them. He was getting close, almost close enough to attempt what he had to do to solve everything.

Trying to keep his heart from thumping it's way out of his chest, Sora forced himself to keep moving. He didn't want to do this, and he was beginning to doubt himself. What if he couldn't do it, or he dropped the Medallion. He'd lose Riku, again, and this time it would be forever. Suddenly swallowing a lump in his throat and fighting back tears, he stopped when he had finally reached them and tightened his grip on the objects he held in his hands, hoping to whoever was listening that this would work. If he gave Kadaj a chance to strike he'd be a dead man.

Taking a deep breath to gather the courage he needed, he placed the medallion on the ground beside him before standing again. Gripping the sword with both hands, he raised it above his head, the blades tip pointing downwards, and shouted as loud as he could. "Riku!"

Hearing the sudden shout from directly behind him, Kadaj whirled around to see Sora standing there, a sword raised and ready to strike. Then a smirk crossed those features as he laughed. "Oh come on, Sora. You're not going to kill your precious Riku are you?"

"No, I'm bringing him back!" With that, the brunette did something Kadaj did not expect; he brought the weapon down, hard. Causing the man to let out a loud scream as the swords blade pierced his heart.

Falling to his knees as the blade was pulled free. Kadaj looked up at Sora and smiled. "You fool, now you've lost him forever."

Sora, pinned the man's gaze with his own as he crouched down and picked up the Medallion, trying extremely hard not to panic and freak out at what he had just done. "No, I haven't, not yet. I have his soul in my hand." And as the last word left his lips, he watched as the man collapsed, the light leaving his eyes as he fell onto his side.

...

Kyrian watched as his friend fought back his fear, before seeing that Kairi had finally gotten to her feet and was making her way over to them. _"I hope he can do this."_

Sora gently lifted Riku's body and held him close in a tight embrace, fighting back his fear and his violently thudding heart, he looked to the hand that held Riku's soul.

"You can do this, Sora. I know you can."

Sora turned his head to see that it was Kairi who had placed a hand on his shoulder. Smiling shakily at her, he turned his head again and unwrapped the material from the Medallion before removing it with his other hand.

The pain he felt was immediate and excruciating. So much so that he screamed mere seconds after touching it. He couldn't describe how much it hurt, couldn't even think to try. Using his free hand to lift the bottom of Riku's shirt, he pressed the object to the bow and arrow mark at the small of his back, and hoped he could last long enough for Riku's soul to transfer from the Medallion to his body.

"Don't let go Sora!" he heard Kyrian say and assumed he had come closer to them as well. The pain was unbearable, the only thing keeping him from letting go being the knowledge of what would happen to Riku if he did. But the pain wasn't lessening. Swearing, he pressed it harder against the tattoo before letting out another pain filled scream, before it finally began to subside. Little by little, the searing heat began to fade until finally, the Medallion was cold and Sora was able to let go.

"Sora?" Kairi asked, a worried tone to her voice.

"I...I'm okay." Sora whispered as he gently rocked Riku's body, hoping and praying for him to just take a breath already. When nothing happened he started to panic. "Fuck! Breathe damn you!"

Opening his eyes, Riku gazed into the slowly clearing fog of his sight as he gradually slipped back into his own body. "Breathe!" Hearing that desperate plea, he did what his body was demanding for him to do, take in a long deep gasping breath to refill his lungs.

Hearing and feeling Riku take in a breath at last, Sora couldn't stop himself from letting out a relieved sob as he loosened his grip on Riku so that he could breathe easier. "Riku?"

"Yeah..." Riku said weakly as his vision cleared and he was able to see that Sora was checking his body with his eyes.

Sora was amazed. It had worked, The wound left by the sword had healed, leaving nothing but a blood stain and a slash in Riku's shirt. And when he finally let his gaze rest on Riku's own again, he saw that his eyes were a Neptune Topaz as crystal clear as they had been five years ago. And unless he was imagining it, his crimson hair had faded slightly.

"You did it." Kairi said, her emotions clear in her voice.

Sora looked at her for a moment and smiled. A tear spilling from his eyes and down his cheeks. "Yeah."

Kyrian watched from where he was crouched down beside Kairi, and smiled when he saw Riku lift a hand to touch a pale finger to the tear that had fallen.

Feeling the tender gesture, Sora looked back down at Riku and took the man's hand in his own, threading their fingers together as he smiled. "I love you, Riku."

"I love you too, Sora." Riku said, reflecting the same smile that Sora wore.

"All right, we should go, before anyone else realises we're here." Kyrian said, picking up the sword that Sora had dropped as he stood. He did not want to be here if Stryker or any of the other Daimon's found them.

"Right." Kairi said with a nod of her head as she too got to her feet.

Sora nodded his agreement with Kyrian before saying. "Are you alright to get out of here Riku?"

"Yeah, but could you help me stand?" Riku replied, knowing his strength hadn't completely returned to him yet.

"Sure." Sora said. Wrapping Riku's right arm around his shoulders, he helped Riku to his feet, then let him lean on him for support.

"Alright. Let's get out of here." Kyrian said with a smile as they headed back toward the portal that Acheron had kept open their end. They had gotten what they had come for, Riku was whole again for the first time in five years, his memory and soul finally intact. Now there was only one more thing the two lovers had to do. And this time, nothing was going to get in their way.

**_..._**

**_Okay, that's it for chapter 7. Please let me know what you think by clicking the review button :)_**


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